Surgery & Post-Op

You can have your cone and eat too! Soft cone collars lead to improved postoperative rabbit care

There are various adaptations of collars and restraints for rabbits on the market. No one size fits all; therefore, finding the right one with the least number of modifications and restrictions is important. Most importantly, they should accommodate the rabbit’s...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Barrera, R., Haynes, G., Kearney, M. et al. 2025. You can have your cone and eat too! Soft cone collars lead to improved postoperative rabbit care. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 13(5) (September/October), 36-39.

Germinating a novel idea to rodent heat support

An external heat source is frequently used to help rodents maintain optimal body temperature. The current gold standard for providing heat support to laboratory rodents is circulating warm water blankets. However, these come with certain drawbacks, including cost, the need...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Husbandry & Management, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rat, Rodent

Citation: Glaspell, S., Welch Jernigan, R. 2025. Germinating a novel idea to rodent heat support. Laboratory Animal Science Professional 13(3) (May/June), 23-24.

Music as a perioperative, non-pharmacological intervention in veterinary medicine. Establishing a feasible framework for music implementation and future perspectives with a focus on the perioperative period of dogs and cats

Research in human medicine has provided sufficient evidence to support music’s incorporation into the perioperative period, suggesting it as a significant non-pharmacological adjunct in terms of a multimodal approach, which should be available to all surgical patients. The literature regarding...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Cat, Dog

Citation: Georgiou, S. G., Galatos, A. D. 2025. Music as a perioperative, non-pharmacological intervention in veterinary medicine. Establishing a feasible framework for music implementation and future perspectives with a focus on the perioperative period of dogs and cats. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 12.

Extended oxygen supplementation after thoracotomy in rats may improve welfare

A retrospective comparison of welfare indicators in male rats undergoing thoracotomy for intrapleural dosing is presented. The initial cohort (n = 7) breathed room air after recovery from anaesthesia, while later cohorts (n = 12) had oxygen supplementation for up to 48 h post-surgery....

Year Published: 2025Topics: Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Rat, Rodent

Citation: Few, B., Dugdale, A. 2025. Extended oxygen supplementation after thoracotomy in rats may improve welfare. Laboratory Animals 59(2), 283–289.

Evaluation of different intramuscular injectable anesthetic combinations in rabbits: Impact on anesthetic depth, physiological parameters, and EEG recordings (2025)

Rabbits have a high anesthesia-related mortality rate because of their small size, high metabolic rate and challenging airway management. This study aimed to investigate different combinations of intramuscularly administered anesthetics in New Zealand White rabbits, focusing on their effects on...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Anesthesia & Sedation, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Rabbit

Citation: Schmid, M.-L., Werner, J., Saller, A. M. et al. 2025. Evaluation of different intramuscular injectable anesthetic combinations in rabbits: Impact on anesthetic depth, physiological parameters, and EEG recordings. PLOS ONE 20(2), e0319106.

A surgical recovery matrix to evaluate post-surgical recovery in mice using sham and myocardial infarction models of cardiac surgery as prototypes (2025)

Examinations of biomarkers are useful in measuring overall health. Endpoints are critical to assess the threshold where the scientific aim of the study does not prevail over the wellbeing of experimental laboratory animal. However, parameters able to assess health and...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Surgery & Post-Op, Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Pal, E., Shokoples, B., Naik, S. et al. 2025. A surgical recovery matrix to evaluate post-surgical recovery in mice using sham and myocardial infarction models of cardiac surgery as prototypes. PLOS ONE 20(5), e0323317.

Analgesia administration practices to support minimal handling (2024)

An adequate analgesic strategy is important to improve the postoperative recovery and welfare of laboratoy animals. It is desirable that the method for administering the drug is non-invasive and stress-free. Below are a few methods that we use to minimise...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Analgesia, Drug/Substance Administration, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Keenan, R., Lynch, A., Murphy, S. et al. 2024. Analgesia administration practices to support minimal handling. Animal Technology and Welfare 23(3), 239–240.

Testing perioperative meloxicam analgesia to enhance welfare while preserving model validity in an inflammation-induced seizure model

Despite the international effort to improve laboratory animal welfare through the 3R principles (Reduce, Refine, Replace), many scientists still fail to implement and report their assessment of pain and well-being, likely due to concerns regarding the potential effects of analgesics...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Analgesia, Disease/Experimental Model, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Mouse, Rodent

Citation: Weiß, E., Pauletti, A., Egilmez, A. et al. 2024. Testing perioperative meloxicam analgesia to enhance welfare while preserving model validity in an inflammation-induced seizure model. Scientific Reports 14(1), 30563.

Does perioperative electroacupuncture reduce postoperative pain in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy?

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate the analgesic efficacy of perioperative electroacupuncture in fifty-six healthy female dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy as part of a catch-neuter-release project. Materials and methods: Ten minutes after sedation with 20 μg/kg medetomidine combined with 0.3 mg/kg butorphanol intramuscularly,...

Year Published: 2025Topics: Analgesia, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Dog

Citation: Iwe, C., Schiele, A., Passenegg, V. et al. 2025. Does perioperative electroacupuncture reduce postoperative pain in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy? Frontiers in Veterinary Science 11.

Sleep quality in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) varies by housing type and following surgery

Sleep is an important contributor to good physical and mental health and an important component of post-surgical recovery. The assessment of dark phase (‘nighttime') behavior can provide insight into the efficacy of analgesic treatments and should be considered when assessing...

Year Published: 2024Topics: Housing, Social Housing & Companionship, Surgery & Post-OpAnimal Type: Macaque, Nonhuman Primate

Citation: Paterson, E. A., O'Malley, C. I., Turner, P. V. 2024. Sleep quality in cynomolgus macaques (Macaca fascicularis) varies by housing type and following surgery. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 272, 106188.