Hi, I performed a lot of ovariectomies on mice, but with c57/bl6 mice. It seems that some strains are more fragile and die easily... do you shave your animals? how are your sutures? at which point your mice dies, during the operation or after?

bye

matthieu

When do your animals die? It is known that Xylanzine causes respiratory depression. In case of (even slightly) to high dosages your mice will die from apnea. The Ovariecotmy in in mice is usually very well tolerated (if extreme bleedings are prevented by cauterisation).

Best

Volker

I guess you should use isoflurane for anesthesia since injectable anesthetics induces prolonged anesthesia and this could be the reason of high mortality. Otherwise, procedure of ovariectomy is very simple and takes 5-7 minutes for one mice to complete. It is also mandatory to administer antibiotics after surgery.

By using isoflurane and good aseptic surgery technique + analgesics you shouldn´t have problems. Although there is pile of SOPs regarding these questions on the web, below are some useful links:

http://www.taconic.com/user-assets/Documents/Products%20and%20Services/Surgical%20Services/CareAndUse/Ovariectomy.pdf

http://www.upenn.edu/regulatoryaffairs/Pdf/AsepticSurgRodents.pdf

https://www.aalaslearninglibrary.org/demo/References.asp?intReferenceID=26540

Hope it helps,

Juan

Hi Abhinay,

Here is a protocol that uses different anesthesia. Good luck!

Book: Bone Research Protocols

Book DOI: 10.1385/1592593666

Chapter: 26

Chapter DOI: 10.1385/1-59259-366-6:361

Published: 2003-01-01

Institution(s): St. George’s Hospital Medical School

http://www.springerprotocols.com/Abstract/doi/10.1385/1-59259-366-6:361

3. Methods

3.1. Ovariectomy

1. Anesthetize the animal with nitrous oxide and oxygen at 1 L/min and 2 L/min

respectively and 2% v/v halothane (Sigma).

2. In rats, the dorsal aspect of each animal is first shaved. In mice, the fur of the

dorsal surface is wetted by ethanol, and then gently parted to create a center line

for the skin incision.

3. Make a midline dorsal incision (approx 2 cm in the rat) using a pair of sharp

scissors. The subcutaneous connective tissue on either side can then be freed

from underlying muscle by blunt dissection using a sterile pair of blunt artery

forceps. A smaller incision (

thanks to all,

@Matthieu Chalopin , Volker Eulenburg ,

animals die post surgery, and on the contrary i noticed hyperventilation in one specific animal(it was a hyperactive animal, also bit me:) ), i'm using surgical cat gut for the suture and applying topial povidone iodine.

@ Satish Panchal ,

reg anaesthesia, i find it very effective, i'm able to control it(dose to time ratio), depending on whether i want to do unilateral or bilateral Ovariectomies.

@Juan Rodriguez

thanks

You mentioned that the mice die post surgery. Does the death occur within 24hours post surgery or after a few days? Did you monitor your mice until it's fully recovered from anaesthesia?

The mouse needs to be maintained at 37C until it's fully recovered from anaesthesia. Hypothermia can lead to physiological derangement during surgery and recovery, increasing the risk of perioperative morbidity. The mouse is considered fully recovered from aesthesia only when it can maintain itself upright and are attempting to move purposefully.

During my early times of mice surgery, I did face the same experience with hyperactive mice. When you notice hyperventilation, gently hold the head in place and use a forcep to gently pull out more of the tongue ( to open the airway ) and keep the mouse in this position until the hyperventilation stops.

What analgesic agent are you using? Without proper pain killer, some mice can actually refrain from eating or drinking.

Hope it helps,

-Sharon-

This surgery is fast then you can use tribromoethanol, the animals' recovery is quckly

I 'm not an expert in anesthesia of lab animals, but I understand that your pain control is very weak, what may be the cause of the deaths. This kind of surgery leads to mild pain and should be treated properly. There are many options such as metamizole and tramadol.

Hope you find out what's going on soon.

Best wishes.