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Background
St Paul Post-Op
Guidelines
Staffing
Phone
Numbers
Hours
Access
Copyright 2006 University of Minnesota
Board of Regents.
The University of Minnesota is an equal
opportunity educator and employer.
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 RAR
Post-Operative Care Program
Background
Regulatory
guidelines require high quality postsurgical care for all
research animals. A centralized program was established in
April 1987 to ensure that post-operative care for
experimental animals is uniform and in accordance with
acceptable veterinary practices. The program requires
that all dogs, cats and pigs in the Health Sciences which
have undergone major survival surgery are transported to a
central post-operative area where care is provided by
Research Animal Resources veterinary technicians, under
direct supervision of a veterinarian. Other species,
such as nonhuman primates, calves, goats and sheep that have
undergone major survival surgery are also admitted to the
post-operative care program, but may remain in their primary
housing area or be transported to the centralized facility,
depending on the availability of the type of housing needed.
Care for these animals may be provided by RAR or may be
shared with the investigator under RAR supervision. Major
surgery includes invasion of a body cavity, the vascular
system or the skeletal system. The duration of the stay in
post-op and the exact care the animal receives will vary
with the procedure and the individual animal's
recovery. However, certain standard
procedures
are followed. Detailed records are kept throughout the
post-operative period and are available to the investigative
staff.
St.
Paul campus Post-Op policies for research or teaching animals undergoing
surgical procedures related to their study.
General Guidelines
for RAR Post-Op Care
In order to
facilitate better postoperative care, the RAR post-operative
staff has developed a list of recommendations to ensure a
smooth recovery and prevent further postoperative
complications.
- Post-Op Reservations:
Please remember to call the post-op veterinary technician to reserve cage space in post-op at least one week in advance. RAR realizes that special circumstances may arise, and we are willing to try and make accommodations in these rare instances. RAR reserves the right to assess a late fee of one hour technical assistance time if late reservations are received.
- Postoperative
Care Sheets:
Please remember to indicate medications/anesthetics in dose (mg), volume
(cc), route (IV, IM, SQ), and time administered. In the event
of an emergency, it is important for the veterinarian and technician
to know the type and amount of drugs that have been given to the animal.
The same drug may come in different concentrations therefore it is very
important to have the amount of drug given in milligrams. In addition,
please indicate the time and date that the animal is transferred to
post-op.
- Contacting the Area Supervisors:
When an animal has undergone a procedure and is transferred to post-op
for care, please remember to notify the area supervisor (via sign on
cage door or in person) as to when or if the animal will be returning
back to their original cage.
- Transferring
Animals to Post-op: If the postoperative veterinary technician
is not in post-op when an animal is transferred, please page 612-589-9182
or leave a voice mail message on the post-op phone (625-0904).
- Blood
Values: If blood work is performed pre- or intra- procedurally
(i.e. blood glucose, PCV/TP, Hgb, blood gases, etc…) it would be
helpful to post-op staff if this was indicated on the post-op care sheet.
More information is better, especially in an emergency situation.
- Fasting
Animals: Please remember to withhold food from large animals
at least 12 hours prior to general anesthesia. Only the RAR veterinarian
may authorize exceptions to the 12-hour fast. Failure of the animal
to be fasted may be cause for the procedure to be postponed.
[Guidelines
for fasting requests]
- Extubating
animals: Animals that are intubated must be attended until
able to be extubated. Just a reminder that animals are NOT to be extubated
until they have a gag reflex and are able to swallow on their own. Animals
must be monitored closely until they have been extubated. Animals transferred
to post-op, which have been extubated, but are unable to swallow and
have no gag reflex will be re-intubated and monitored by the vet tech
until able to swallow. There will be a charge to the investigator for
animals that are re-intubated.
- IV Catheters:
For animals which have IV catheters, infuse the IV catheter with 2-3
cc heparinized saline, cover catheter with small amount vet wrap (or
similar bandage material if available), then transfer animal to post-op.
The IV catheter will be removed once the animal has fully recovered
from anesthesia at no charge to the investigator. This is recommended
to allow immediate venous access in the rare instance of a post-anesthetic
emergency and to eliminate unnecessary discomfort to the animal when
placing an additional IV catheter for the administration of warm IV
fluids in a hypothermic animal.
- Suture
Removal: All external skin sutures must be removed in 10-14
days. If after 12 days, sutures have not been removed, the post-op
tech will call the group to remind them that the sutures need to be
removed. After 48 hours, if sutures have not been removed, the
post-op tech will sedate the animal, if necessary, remove the sutures,
and the investigator will be charged.
- Per
diem post-op charge: Post-op charge will be initiated at 12
pm. Once an animal has been discharged from post-op, the group
has until 12 pm to remove the animal before the group is charge for
an additional day in post-op, unless prior arrangements have been made.
- Research
procedures: For post-op patients who require morning treatments
or procedures by the group, it would be preferable to have these procedures
completed by 9 am to facilitate the LACT in their effort to clean post-op
by a reasonable hour.
As with all guidelines, there
may be exceptions. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions,
please contact the RAR Veterinary Services office at 624-9100.
Staffing
The post-operative
facility is staffed by the following personnel:
1. The attending
clinical veterinarian
2. A full time
veterinary technician
3. A veterinary
technician for evening duty
4. Several support
personnel required for routine husbandry
procedures
Weekend and
holiday coverage is provided by the veterinarians and
veterinary technicians who work together on a rotating
schedule.
The post-op staff expects to work
closely with individual investigators and their personnel. Depending on
the requirements of particular studies, modifications may be made in otherwise
"standard" approaches to treatment. The veterinarian and veterinary
technicians should be consulted if a study has unique requirements in
terms of drugs, feeding, fluids, etc. Otherwise, treatment will be based
on accepted veterinary guidelines. Post-op per diem rates include routine
monitoring and nursing care, and administration of some routine medications.
Analgesics and other charges are billed separately.
Phone
Numbers:
Post-Op Facility, Veterinary Technicians 625-0904,
Weekend on-duty Veterinarian-- Call the Emergency Veterinary Pager. The number is posted by the phone in Post-Op. (Dial the pager. Following the beep, dial in the call-back number. Hang up the phone and wait for the on-call Vet to call you back.)
Hours:
7 AM to 7 PM
weekdays
~ 8 AM to 10 AM
weekends
Access:
Investigators and their staff are encouraged to monitor
their animals' progress while in post-op. All central RAR
facilities require a U-card
registered with RAR's
office for
general access at all times. The post-op facility is
unlocked during the above hours; keys are available for
groups needing access at other times. Users must phone ahead
and alert the post-op technicians when they should expect an
animal.
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The information contained in this site is
intended as a reference for University of Minnesota
investigators, and animal husbandry and veterinary staff.
Drug information and dosages are derived from a variety of
sources and do not necessarily guarantee safety or efficacy.
Information obtained through this site should not be relied
upon as professional veterinary advice. Any medications
administered or procedures performed on animals should only
be performed by or under order of a qualified, licensed
veterinarian.
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