SurgicalProceduresDescriptionandGuidance.docVIP

SURGICAL DESCRIPTIONS ADRENAL DEMEDULLATION: The animal will be anesthetized. A dorsal cut in the skin will be made just above the kidney (just posterior to the last rib and lateral to the midline). A rat-toothed forceps will be used to pull the fat surrounding the adrenal gland out of the incision. Care will be taken to avoid grabbing the adrenal gland with the forceps. Once the adrenal gland is exposed, a 1mm incision in the adrenal cortex, distal to the vascular input will be made with a #11 scalpel blade and the gland will be gently compressed such that the adrenal medulla is expressed through the incision according to the method of Tonge and Oatley (Physiol. Behav. 10:497-505, 1973). The muscle will be sutured with sterile absorbable sutures and the skin will be closed with sterile wound clips. AUDITORY RECORDING: The animal will be anesthetized. A skin incision will be made over the brain area of interest. Any bone overlying the area will be removed with a scalpel blade or small rongeurs. Lesions or manipulation of the relevant brain tissue or sensory organ will be made with a small heat cautery. The skull will regenerate and thus no effort will be made to replace the removed section. Skin will be sutured with 6-0 Prolene* or surgical glue (VetBond) will be utilized. COCHLEAR REMOVAL: The animal will be anesthetized. A skin incision will be made behind the pinna to expose the auditory bulla. A small hole will be made in the bulla, and the cochlea will be removed by aspiration with an 18 gauge needle connected to a suction pump. The procedure takes approximately 30 minutes. Confirmation of deafness will be done by non-invasive auditory brainstem recordings after the animal reaches maturity and by histological verification after euthanasia. The animals often sustain some damage to the vestibular system as a result of the cochlear removal, and must be partially-hand fed puppy milk replacer until they open their eyes at four weeks of age and are a