Aeseptic Surgery Standard Operating Procedure
Aesepsis reduction of microbial contamination to the lowest possible practical level.
Minor surgery procedure in which a body cavity is not exposed and where little or no physical impairment occurs (ex.: wound suturing, long-term peripheral vessel canulation, etc.)
Major surgery penetrates and exposes a body cavity or produces a substantial impairment of physical or physiologic functions (ex.: laparotomy, thoracotomy, craniotomy, joint replacement, limb amputation, etc.)
Non-survival surgery the animal is euthanized when the procedure is completed. Non-survival surgeries still require aseptic techniques such as shaving and cleaning the incision area, wearing of protective outer garments and gloves, and performing the procedure in a space acceptable to the IACUC.
Survival surgery the animal recovers from the procedure. Only one survival procedure can be performed on an animal unless the researcher has approval of the IACUC.
All surgical procedures should be well-planned ahead of time and the researcher should insure that the person doing the surgery is well-trained in performance of the procedure as well as the principles of aseptic technique.
The accomplishment of surgical asepsis involves a variety of procedures, beginning with the choice of an IACUC approved area to perform the surgery. Different sizes and types of animals will determine whether the area is appropriate or not, since a laboratory countertop would suffice for small rodent surgery, but not for a dog or cat. Location should be in a dedicated spot in an area where there is minimal traffic of laboratory personnel. The dedicated spot should be easy to clean and sanitize and not be subject to clutter from surrounding procedures.
The person(s) doing surgery should be dressed with a clean outer garment covering their street clothes. They should wash their hands well with a disinfectant scrub solution and then put on surgical gloves. The area of the incision is then prepared by shaving any hair to within a distance which will prevent hair contamination from entering the wound The shaved area should be cleaned in circular movements, away from the point of incision, with a disinfectant scrub, and draped, if possible, so as to avoid any subsequent contamination. Surgical instruments should be wrapped in a drape and autoclaved at 212 F. for 15 minutes at 15 psi. Alternatively, instruments can be sterilized in a dry-heat bead sterilizer or soaked in a chemical sterilant for an appropriate amount of time. A sterile drape should be available to lay instruments on if necessary to prevent contamination when not in use.
When the procedure has been completed, the animal should be observed at least on an hourly basis until it is awake. The observer should make hourly notations on the hard copy of the surgery log regarding the condition of the subject until full recovery has been achieved.
For more information on NIH guidelines for aseptic surgery, see http://oacu.od.nih.gov/ARAC/surguide.pdf