No amount of theoretical teaching can compensate for an investigator who has a disregard for the animals they are going to carry out procedures on. Respect for living animals and their tissue facilitates a correct approach to surgical techniques. Delicate tissue handling is of utmost importance if surgery is to have a successful outcome; minimising tissue trauma will facilitate rapid healing.
Halsted’s principles of surgery provide a succinct summary of the underlying principles involved in good surgical technique:
- Ensure gentle tissue handling
- Practice meticulous haemostasis
- Preserve the blood supply to tissues
- Maintain strict asepsis
- Apply minimum tension to
tissue - Accurately oppose tissue
planes / wound edges - Obliterate dead space
Maintaining asepsis during surgery requires careful attention to detail, to avoid compromising all of the efforts taken in preparing the animal, surgeon and equipment that are described above.