# 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. [Open the Vet block](https://streamcell.com/library/vet) ยท [See the form](https://streamcell.com/library/rodent-surgery-post-op-record#the-form) ## Key facts - **Facilities compared**: 12, from their public procedures and forms, October 2026 - **Ways it's kept**: 4 - **Part of**: [The Vet block](https://streamcell.com/library/vet) ## What the procedures reveal Three findings a vet or facility manager would stop on. - **8 of 12**: have the lab do the daily checks. The rest don't say who, and none names facility staff. - **4 of 12**: print when to call the vet on the record itself: a code, a score or "contact the vet if". - **4 of 12**: build in more than one check or dose a day, up to every 8 to 12 hours for 72 hours. ## 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** (8 of 12 facilities) 2. **Where does the record live?** - 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?** - Vet staff or a vet tech: 6 of 12 - 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?** - Direct contact, channel not named: 6 of 12 - 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. ## 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** (4 of 12 facilities): A sticker, card or sign flags the animal; the full record sits in the animal room, in a folder or a log. - **A facility form the lab keeps** (4 of 12 facilities): A template the lab fills in and keeps, not tied to the cage. - **The card on the cage** (3 of 12 facilities): The card in the holder is the record: the surgery on the front, the daily checks on the back. - **A sheet per protocol** (1 of 12 facilities): No standard form. A monitoring checklist is written for each protocol and approved with it. 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. ## What should a rodent post-op record contain? The fields facilities' records carry, with how many of 12 carry each one. **Rodent surgery and post-op record** (SX). Statuses: Surgery recorded, Daily checks, Vet alerted, Checks complete. Counts are of 12 facilities' forms. **The surgery** - Animal (Link: SoftMouse animal): 9 of 12 - Cage (Link: SoftMouse cage, required): 2 of 12 - Species (Dropdown, required): 7 of 12 - Protocol (Text, required): 9 of 12 - PI (User, required): 8 of 12 - Surgeon (User, required): 9 of 12 - Procedure (Text, required): 10 of 12 - Surgery date (Day 0) (Date and time, required): 9 of 12 - Weight before surgery (Number): 6 of 12 - Out-of-hours contact (Text): 3 of 12 - Check until (Date): 2 of 12 **Anesthesia and drugs** - Drugs given (Table, required): 10 of 12 - Anesthesia started (Date and time): 4 of 12 - Anesthesia checks (Table): 4 of 12 - Recovered at (Date and time): 4 of 12 - Complications (Rich text): 3 of 12 **Daily checks** (opens when the workflow reaches it) - Checks (Table, required): 12 of 12 - Needs the vet (Checkbox): 4 of 12 - Sutures out on (Date): 3 of 12 **Vet** (opens when the workflow reaches it) - Vet's advice (Rich text, required) - Seen by (User, required) 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. ## Find your starting point Answer yes or no to find the facilities that work the way yours does. 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## 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. ## Start from the *Vet block* The sick animal report, the health case and the views a vet uses every day, as one package your team changes to fit. [Open the Vet block](https://streamcell.com/library/vet) --- Source: https://streamcell.com/library/rodent-surgery-post-op-record Last reviewed: 2026-10-16 Streamcell is made by Iseehear Inc., 250 University Avenue, Suite 200, Toronto, ON M5H 3E5, Canada. Book a demo: https://streamcell.com/demo