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St Paul Post-Op

Guidelines

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The University of Minnesota is an equal opportunity educator and employer.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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).
  5. 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.
  6. 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]
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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.
  11. 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.