Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals - Office of ...

144 GUIdE FOR ThE CARE ANd USE OF LAbORATORy ANIMALSSPECIAL FACILITIESSurgeryThe design of a surgical facility should accommodate the species to beoperated on and the complexity of the procedures to be performed (Hessler1991; see also Appendix A, Design and Construction of Animal Facilities).The facility, including that used for rodents, by necessity becomes largerand more complex as the number and size of animals or the complexityof procedures increase. For instance, a larger facility may be required toaccommodate procedures on agricultural species, large surgical teams,imaging devices, robotic surgical systems, and/or laparoscopic equipmenttowers. Surgical facilities for agricultural species may additionally requirefloor drains, special restraint devices, and hydraulic operating tables.For most survival surgery performed on rodents and other small speciessuch as aquatics and birds, an animal procedure laboratory is recommended;the space should be dedicated to surgery and related activitieswhen used for this purpose, and managed to minimize contamination fromother activities conducted in the room at other times. The association ofsurgical facilities with diagnostic laboratories, imaging facilities, animalhousing, staff offices, and so on should be considered in the overall contextof the complexity of the surgical program. Centralized surgical facilities arecost-effective in equipment, conservation of space and personnel resources,and reduced transit of animals. They also enable enhanced personnel safetyand professional oversight of both facilities and procedures.For most surgical programs, functional components of aseptic surgeryinclude surgical support, animal preparation, surgeon’s scrub, operatingroom, and postoperative recovery. The areas that support those functionsshould be designed to minimize traffic flow and separate the related nonsurgicalactivities from the surgical procedure in the operating room. Theseparation is best achieved by physical barriers (AORN 1993) but may alsobe achieved by distance between areas or by the timing of appropriatecleaning and disinfection between activities.Surgical facilities should be sufficiently separate from other areas tominimize unnecessary traffic and decrease the potential for contamination(Humphreys 1993). The number of personnel and their level of activity havebeen shown to be directly related to the level of bacterial contaminationand the incidence of postoperative wound infection (Fitzgerald 1979). Trafficin the operating room can be reduced by the installation of an observationwindow, a communication system (such as an intercom system), andjudicious location of doors.Control of contamination and ease of cleaning should be key considerationsin the design of a surgical facility. The interior surfaces should be