35th Annual Meeting

This workshop will provide basic instruction on how to prepare a mouse for stereotaxic surgery and perform a brain injection. Participants will learn how to operate and understand a Stoelting Just for Mouse Stereotaxic Instrument, how to read a Vernier scale, and how to place the mouse in the ear bars and snout clamp properly. Participants will also be instructed on how to expose the skull of the mouse and identify bregma. During the final portion of the workshop, participants will perform a brain injection; they will learn how to position the manipulator arm to specific coordinates, use a micro motor drill to prepare the skull for insertion of the Hamilton syringe needle in order to perform an injection directly into the brain of the mouse.

Time:  Wednesday, 8:00 am – 11:00 am

Seats: maximum of 8

Instructors:

• Richard Mills, Stoelting Co.
• Bonnie Lyons, The Jackson Laboratory
• Thomas Perekslis, The Jackson Laboratory
• Andree Lapierre, The Jackson Laboratory

A variety of drugs can affect auditory and/or vestibular function.   This workshop will provide guided, hands-on instruction in intra-aural dosing techniques used to evaluate the ototoxicity of compounds.  Attendees will perform trans-tympanic and semicircular canal administration in rats and mice and be able to verify dose accuracy post-surgery.  All will leave with an enhanced understanding of ear anatomy.

Time:  Wednesday, 8:00 am – 11:00 am

Seats: maximum of 6

Instructors:

• Gayle Nugent, Charles River Laboratories
• Janelle Gesaman, Charles River Laboratories

Effective outcomes in cardiothoracic surgical research in rodents are dependent upon adequate techniques for intubation and mechanical ventilation.  This workshop will provide hands-on instruction on rodent intubation and use of rodent ventilators.

Time:  Wednesday, 8:00 am – 11:00 am

Seats: maximum of 8

Instructor: Brad Gien, Covance

Telemetry has become the gold standard of physiologic monitoring due to its ability to monitor numerous physiologic traits without the need for anesthesia or restraint. This decreases stress to the animals, increases the accuracy of the data and allows for a reduction in numbers of animals used and refinement of study design. Telemetry is used in multiple fields of biomedical research such as basic science, discovery and safety pharmacology. Ferrets are a useful species to study various respiratory diseases and function and cardiovascular data collection is an important addition to these studies. The steps for surgical implantation of this M11 telemetry device will first be demonstrated by an expert telemetry surgeon. Attendees will then have the opportunity to work individually, under the guidance of experienced surgeons to surgically implant devices in ferrets. Each attendee will implant a functional telemetry device so the live, physiologic signals can be viewed in real time. Emphasis will be placed on proper microsurgical technique and appropriate handling of the telemetry device. Prior surgical experience is strongly recommended, but not required. Surgical loupes and light sources or a microscope will be provided.

Time:  Wednesday, 8:00 am – 11:00 am OR 12:30 pm – 3:30 pm

Seats: maximum of 4 per session

Instructors:

• Heather Bogie, Data Science International
• Kim Swearingen, Data Science International
• Kathryn Nichols, Data Science International
• Kimberly Holliday-White, Data Science International

The rat is a widely used model in surgical and toxicological research due to small size and physiology similar to humans. Non-stereotaxic dosing enables the surgeon to target a number of tissues without the cost and complexity of using stereotaxic equipment.  Skill is necessary to accurately and consistently dose the intended target. This workshop will provide guided, hands-on instruction in injecting the kidney, prostate, urethral sphincter, Achille’s tendon, myocardium and left ventricle of the heart. Attendees will learn to utilize appropriate equipment and techniques to overcome challenges of non-stereotaxic dosing in a small animal model.

Time:  Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Seats: maximum of 8

Instructors:

• Gayle Nugent, Charles River Laboratories
• Janelle Gesaman, Charles River Laboratories

This workshop will provide information and instruction on intravitreal and subretinal injections in rodents via a posterior trans-scleral approach.  Participants will be provided with a list of necessary instruments and equipment, as well as instructional diagrams for each procedure.  Direct supervision and instruction will be provided during the hands-on portion of the workshop, in which each participant will have the opportunity to perform multiple intravitreal and subretinal injections in rats.  Preparation of the eye for injection, placement of the lens for visualization, and tissue and needle handling during the injection will be covered.  Only rats will be utilized for the laboratory, with methods covered being directly translatable to mice with additional practice.

Time:  Wednesday, 8:00 am – 11:00 am OR 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Seats: maximum of 6 per session

Instructor: Dr. Ryan Boyd, Charles River

The induction of myocardial infarction in animal models is becoming increasingly important in research.  This workshop provides an opportunity to create myocardial infarction in the rat model while receiving hands-on instruction from surgeons very experienced in this procedure.

Time:  Wednesday, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Seats: maximum of 8

Instructor: Brad Gien, Covance

This hands-on laboratory experience will introduce attendees to stereotaxic procedures and the equipment necessary to conduct stereotaxic surgery in large animal species. Canine and non-human primate skull models will be utilized to describe the basic techniques and nuances of performing stereotaxic surgical approaches commonly used in an academic or research setting. Attendees will have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with use of the stereotaxic frame and will be provided with an overview of various modalities to allow for successful targeting of common stereotaxic targets and cartography (e.g. lateral ventricle, putamen, caudate, hippocampus).

Time:  Thursday, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm (Registration Required)

Seats: maximum of 6

Instructor: Eric Adams, Northern Biomedical

The objectives for this dry lab include:

• Brain atlas
• How to read a Vernier scale and use with the brain atlas
• Different types of stereotaxic systems available. (e.g., digital, motorized, etc.)
• Required and optional tools and accessories needed for stereotaxic surgery
• Gas anesthesia options

Duration:  30 – 60 minutes (No Pre-Registration Required)

Please check back soon for details on this dry lab.

(No Pre-Registration Required)

Experimental surgical:

• Animal models
• Cardiovascular
• General, soft tissue
• Orthopedic
• Dermatological
• Ophthalmic
• Transplantation
• Education, policy, ethics, or regulation
• Other

Scientific Sessions

Scientific sessions will be presented on Thursday, September 26 and Friday, September 27. Here are some guidelines to help in your preparation of Scientific Abstracts for platform or poster presentations. Abstracts must be limited to a total of 500 words. Text and authors information should be entered into the fields below. Make sure all contact information is provided for the presenting author. Please email the Abstract Committee for any special accommodations needed.

Abstracts accepted for presentation will be published electronically in the Journal of Investigative Surgery, the official journal of the Academy of Surgical Research unless authors opt-out.

• All abstracts should have a title and be approximately 500 words.
• Information regarding the number of animals on study should be included where appropriate
• Surgical procedures should be summarized if applicable
• Anesthetic regimen should be described and include dosages
• Intra/post-operative complications (or the absence of) should be described
• Description of pain management should be included (dose/route/frequency)
• Statistical methods/results
• Should be formatted into the following four sections: Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion

Topic Lectures and Panel Discussion

A topic lecture is a formal presentation given by a single speaker on a specific topic. A panel discussion would be given by multiple speakers around the same topic. This could be an area of expertise, an area of refinement or improvement, tips on a new or existing procedure, etc.. This should fit into a 30 minute session (25 minutes + 5 min Q&A) or please specify if additional time is needed.

Submission should include:

• Title
• Description
• What participants will learn
• Target audience
• Name of all participants and facilitator

Workshops and Wet/Dry Labs

These offer participants an opportunity for hands-on experience or to spend more time on a particular topic of interest. Time allotments may vary but these are typically planned for 30 minutes or more. Leaders will work closely with the Program Chair to help further develop the curriculum and ensure proper equipment is available, if needed. Leaders may recruit additional people to facilitate or teach these classes based on knowledge and expertise.

Submission should include:

• Title
• Description
• What participants will learn
• Target audience
• Ideal audience size or number of spaces
• Time requirement
• Any equipment/supplies needed
• Sponsor (if any)

Important Dates and general information

The abstracts will be reviewed and later published in the meeting materials, if accepted.

Abstract Submission Deadline: August 16, 2019

Abstract Guidelines

• Abstracts will be accepted in English only.
• There is no fee for submitting an abstract.
• The abstract text body is limited to 3,000 characters (Approx. 500 words) including spaces. A maximum of two figures/images (in JPG, GIF, or PNG with ideally 600 dpi) can be included. These will not count toward the word limit, nor will the information about authors, institutions and study groups. File size of 2 MB maximum for each figure.
• Abstracts accepted for presentation will be published electronically in the Journal of Investigative Surgery, the official journal of the Academy of Surgical Research unless authors opt-out.
• Ensure that all co-authors approve of the abstract submission, publication, and potential presentation.

Scientific Abstract

Should be formatted into the following four sections

• Introduction: clarifies the motivation for the research presented.
• Methods provides sufficient detail for others to reproduce what is studied in the research project.
• Results presents and discusses the results.

Conclusion

Should present the outcome of the work by interpreting the findings and by relating these findings to the motivation stated in the Introduction. Explain the significance of your findings / outcomes and future implications of the results.

Copyright Policy

Abstracts should not include libelous or defamatory content. Material presented in abstracts should not violate any copyright laws.

Ethics Compliance

Scientific studies and clinical activities should be performed in keeping with the ethical principles delineated in the following policy documents:
Institutional Ethical Review for human and/or animal research as appropriate

Abstract Review

• All submitted abstracts will go through a peer-review process carried out by a review committee.
• All abstracts will be reviewed by at least two referees, selected by the scientific program committee.
• Scores assigned by all reviewers are averaged. The cut-off average score for acceptance is based on available oral and poster presentations. Rejections are further evaluated by the scientific program committee.
• Poster and oral presentations are viewed as equally important components of the ASR meeting.

Format of presentation

You may opt to submit your abstract to be considered for an oral presentation, a poster presentation, or either (at the committee’s discretion)

Notification of Acceptance or Rejection to Corresponding Author

Notification of acceptance or rejection will be sent to the submitting (corresponding) author by August 23, 2019. Please note that only the corresponding author will receive mail concerning the abstract and is responsible for informing all co-authors of the status of the abstract. Authors whose abstracts have been accepted will receive instructions for the presentation of their abstract.

Proposed Abstract Formats

Oral Presentation 30 minutes (25 min + 5 min Q&A)
Poster on display from September 26-27

Manual On Efficiently Writing Competitive Research Abstracts For Surgical Journals
https://fhs.mcmaster.ca/neurosurgery/documents/manualefficientlywritingabstracts1.pdf

Examples:

Evaluating the timing and severity of surgical complications after (procedure) List of authors

Introduction
Complications following (procedure) are well-described, however the timing and severity is unclear. Our objective was to characterize and evaluate the median time-to-event for postoperative complications associated with (procedure).

Methods
We performed a retrospective review of (animals) undergoing (procedure) from (YYYY-YYYY). The anesthetic and analgesic protocol included (brief description drug, dose, route). A (procedure) was performed (brief description). We investigated complications occurring after (procedure) and characterized severity using the Accordian Severity Grading System as well as days from operation to complication to define early (0-15 days) and late complications (16-30 days).

Results
A total of (## animals, age weight) underwent (procedure), all animals recovered following surgery. (##%) of (animals) experienced a complication within 30 days, with (##%) of (animals) experiencing 2 or more complications. Of animals who had at least 1 complication, most (##%) had their first within 15 days and these were categorized as mild. Complications related to the surgical site (e.g. infection, dehiscence) were most likely to occur between (##-## days) post-procedure. (##) Severe complications included (base on procedure e.g sepsis, reop,) were likely to occur between (##-##) days post-procedure.

Conclusions
The majority of complications after (procedure) and mild and occur within the first 15 days. Site-related complications occurred early while severe complications occurred several (days, weeks earlier, later, or similarly). Knowledge regarding timing of postoperative complications may better inform refinement measures for perioperative practices and postoperative follow-up.

Surgical technique 1 Compared to Surgical technique 2 
List of authors

Introduction
Description of the surgical problem and goal for translation to the clinical patient. In this analysis we compare the outcomes of animals who underwent surgical procedure for problem using either technique 1 or 2.

Methods
From (date) to (date) we performed (##, surgery) using technique 1 (##animals, demographic) or 2 (##animals, demographic). Technique 1 description. Technique 2 description.

Results
Surgical procedure was successful in (##%) using technique 1 and (##%) using technique 2. In both groups, (observations in common). (Surgical outcome measures…) were (equivalent, superior, inferior and why). Duration of procedure was (min) using technique 1 versus (min) technique 2.

Conclusions
In this study we demonstrated improved survival and shorter surgical duration after technique 1 compared with technique 2. Provide a recommendation as it relates to model and any perceived limitations.