Refinement of Minipig Surgical Procedures

The importance of refinement does not need to be discussed; however, it is equally important to share the advances made with the community. At times individual refinements might be small and of little impact but over time they add up and improve a procedure considerably. In this presentation the advancements of surgical procedures performed in Göttingen Minipigs over the last few years are summed up and discussed. The following procedures are addressed:

LVP Telemetry by left sided Thoracotomy:
This procedure has ben refined in a way that with larger Minipigs only one incision is necessary. With other adjustments we brought down the occurrence of AF and VF and achieved a better recovery period.
Liver biopsy of normal and markedly steatotic livers:
Liver biopsy of a normal liver is straight forward, but very tricky with a steatotic liver. Initially the procedure was performed by laparotomy, but with the right equipment we were very successful with US guided needle biopsy.
Long-term Anesthesia and catheterizing of new-born Minipigs:
The goal for a non-recovery asphyxia study was to keep a minipig younger than 24h in anesthesia for 72h and place two peripheral and one central line. Experience and results of the technical aspects are shared in this part.