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After surgery, every check has a place.

Of 12 facilities' rodent surgery records, 11 ask for each post-op analgesic dose and 10 keep the surgery, the anesthesia and the daily checks on one record, but only 2 have a field for pain. Where that record lives differs in 4 ways.

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Facilities compared
12, from their public procedures and forms, October 2026
Ways it's kept
4

01 / Surgery and post-op records

What the procedures reveal

Three findings a vet or facility manager would stop on.

8of 12

have the lab do the daily checks. The rest don't say who, and none names facility staff.

4of 12

print when to call the vet on the record itself: a code, a score or "contact the vet if".

4of 12

build in more than one check or dose a day, up to every 8 to 12 hours for 72 hours.

02 / Surgery and post-op records

Where do facilities part ways?

One path from the lab's daily checks to the vet, and the three points where the 12 facilities split.

  1. The lab does the daily checks

    Step · 8 of 12

    8 of 12

  2. Where does the record live?

    Facilities split · 4 ways

    • A cage tag, the record in the room

      4 of 12

    • A facility form the lab keeps

      4 of 12

    • The card on the cage

      3 of 12

    • A sheet per protocol

      1 of 12

  3. Who at the facility is in the loop?

    Facilities split · 3 ways

    • Vet staff or a vet tech

      6 of 12Most common

    • A vet

      2 of 12

    • Husbandry and animal care staff

      2 of 12

    Not stated · 2 of 12

  4. How does the problem reach them?

    Facilities split · 2 ways

    • Direct contact, channel not named

      6 of 12Most common

    • A phone call

      2 of 12

    Not stated · 4 of 12

Each dot is one of the 12 facilities whose procedure we read. Where one way clearly leads at a fork, it is outlined.

03 / Surgery and post-op records

Where does the post-op record live?

The first fork, way by way: where the record is kept and how room staff learn of it.

  • A tag on the cage, the record in the room

    A sticker, card or sign flags the animal; the full record sits in the animal room, in a folder or a log.

    4 of 12

  • A facility form the lab keeps

    A template the lab fills in and keeps, not tied to the cage.

    4 of 12

  • The card on the cage

    The card in the holder is the record: the surgery on the front, the daily checks on the back.

    3 of 12

  • A sheet per protocol

    No standard form. A monitoring checklist is written for each protocol and approved with it.

    1 of 12
Each dot is one facility whose procedure we read. Counted from public procedures, October 2026.

5 of 12 state that the same facts are kept in two places, such as a cage sticker and the record. The record is one per animal at 4, one per cage at 3, and a group sheet is allowed at 3.

04 / Surgery and post-op records

What should a rodent post-op record contain?

The fields facilities' records carry, with how many of 12 carry each one.

SX

Rodent surgery and post-op record

Used by, out of 12 facilities’ forms

  1. Surgery recorded
  2. Daily checks
  3. Vet alerted
  4. Checks complete

The surgery

  • AnimalLink: SoftMouse animal
    9 of 12
  • Cage *Link: SoftMouse cage
    2 of 12
  • Species *Dropdown

    Mouse · Rat · Other rodent · Other

    7 of 12
  • Protocol *Text
    9 of 12
  • PI *User
    8 of 12
  • Surgeon *User
    9 of 12
  • Procedure *Text
    10 of 12
  • Surgery date (Day 0) *Date and time
    9 of 12
  • Weight before surgeryNumber
    6 of 12
  • Out-of-hours contactText
    3 of 12
  • Check untilDate
    2 of 12

Anesthesia and drugs

  • Drugs given *Table
    10 of 12
  • Anesthesia startedDate and time
    4 of 12
  • Anesthesia checksTable
    4 of 12
  • Recovered atDate and time
    4 of 12
  • ComplicationsRich text
    3 of 12

Daily checks opens when the workflow reaches it

  • Checks *Table
    12 of 12
  • Needs the vetCheckbox
    4 of 12
  • Sutures out onDate
    3 of 12

Vet opens when the workflow reaches it

  • Vet's advice *Rich text
    for the workflow
  • Seen by *User
    for the workflow
All 12 list what to record: 9 on a form or template, 3 in a policy.

11 of 12 log each post-op analgesic dose, and 10 each the procedure, the anesthetic drugs and the animal's general condition. 2 have a pain field. A suture removal day is set at 7 of 12, from 5 to 14 days after surgery.

05 / Surgery and post-op records

Find your starting point

Answer yes or no to find the facilities that work the way yours does.

Question 1

Are the daily post-op checks written on a card in the cage card holder?

See every question
  1. Are the daily post-op checks written on a card in the cage card holder?
  2. Is the record kept in the animal room, with a tag or sign on the cage?
  3. Does your facility or IACUC give you a standard form for it?
  • A tag on the cage, the record in the room: You work like 4 of the 12 facilities we read. Creating the record emails the room team, and the tag can stay.
  • A facility form the lab keeps: You work like 4 of the 12. The record replaces the template, and room staff can read it.
  • The card on the cage: You work like 3 of the 12. The card stays in the holder with the record number on it.
  • A sheet per protocol: You work like 1 of the 12. A surgery class field opens the checks that protocol needs.

06 / Surgery and post-op records

What do the rules ask for?

Post-op care and pain relief, with records. For purpose-bred mice and rats, the duty comes from the Guide, PHS Policy and the institution.

  • Animal Welfare Act regulations: surgery must include appropriate pre- and post-operative care, and painful procedures need anesthetics or analgesics unless withholding them is justified in writing (9 CFR 2.31). They do not cover purpose-bred mice and rats.
  • The Guide, as guidance: surgical planning says who does post-op monitoring, care and recordkeeping; anesthetic monitoring is documented; animals are observed often after surgery, with attention to pain.
  • CCAC guidelines (Canada): records for anesthesia, surgery and post-op care, with the type, dose, site and route of each drug.
  • A 2023 USDA inspection report cited a surgical card missing one day's required check. The animal was found dead the next day of a reopened incision.

07 / Surgery and post-op records

How does Streamcell run it?

The default is the facility form the lab keeps, as a record room staff can read.

  1. Surgery

    Noor Adler operates on 7756 under ISH-1009 and records the surgery, the drugs and the recovery.

  2. Room told

    Creating the record emails the husbandry staff, so Priya Sood knows the cage is post-op.

  3. Daily checks

    Each check is a row on the record. On day 2 the lab marks the incision swollen and ticks Needs the vet.

  4. Vet

    Jules Ferreira is emailed, and Robin Mace's advice goes back to the surgeon and the PI. If it becomes a case, the vet opens HC-0185 and links it.

Each morning at 08:00 the surgeon and PI are emailed for every record still in daily checks. Checks every 8 to 12 hours go in the table as they happen. Incision and condition alerts run as two workflows, because Streamcell has no if-then step.

08 / Surgery and post-op records

The research behind this guide

We read the public procedures and rodent surgery forms of 12 research animal facilities in the US and Canada, all universities, in October 2026. Counts are facilities, not documents.

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