Post-Operative Record

A record maintained by investigative personnel that includes:

• The surgery or procedure and the date it was performed
• Notation of (at least) daily monitoring for the duration of the post-operative monitoring period as defined in the ULAM rodent or non-rodent mammal surgical guidelines, or as described in the animal use protocol.
• Any drugs given, including the route, dose, and time/frequency.
• For animal use protocols that state analgesia will be given “as needed,” personnel MUST note that an animal is not painful/no longer needs analgesics BEFORE analgesics are discontinued.
  • The presence or absence of pain MUST be noted each day for the duration of the post-operative monitoring period.
• The surgical/anesthetic/sedation record and the post-operative record may be combined and kept on a single sheet of paper if preferred.
• Specific requirements for post-operative monitoring records can be found in these ULAM documents:
  • Guidelines on the Performance of Surgery in Non-Rodent Mammals
  • Guidelines on the Performance of Surgery in Rodents