The Art of Reproducible Experimental Surgery in Rodents

From the organizers: 

Surgery in rodents is challenging, and specialized skills, training and experience is required to establish a reliable and reproducible surgical model. In addition to mastering the individual steps of the procedure, knowledge on anatomy and physiology, and a broad understanding of good surgical practice, including asepsis, reduction of trauma, hemostasis, anesthesia, analgesia, and selection of tools and materials is crucial for success. 
We started more than twelve years ago, when we set out to establish a dual-catheter infusion/sampling model for glucose clamp studies in mice. Here, the process of refinement of this model will be presented and it will be demonstrated how training, optimization, and meticulous attention to detail leads to improved animal welfare, substantial reductions in animal usage numbers, and more robust and reproducible research data. 
While the study was performed in the context of metabolic research, the conclusions are generally applicable and will be relevant to anyone using experimental surgery in their research.