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- Title
Evaluating the utility of a CO<sub>2</sub> surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study.
- Authors
Viscardi, Abbie V.; Cull, Charley A.; Kleinhenz, Michael D.; Montgomery, Shawnee; Curtis, Andrew; Lechtenberg, Kelly; Coetzee, Johann F.
- Abstract
CO2 surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study. surgical lasers are widely used for procedures in veterinary and human medicine. There is evidence to suggest surgery using a CO2 surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study. laser reduces pain and swelling and improves healing time compared with surgery with a scalpel. Millions of piglets in North America are surgically castrated each year using a scalpel. Therefore, piglet welfare may be improved by making refinements to the surgical procedure. The objectives of this preliminary study were to determine the ability of a CO2 surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study. surgical laser to (1) reduce pain and (2) improve wound healing of piglets undergoing surgical castration. Two-day-old male Yorkshire × Landrace piglets were used and randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments (n = 10 piglets/treatment group): surgical castration with the CO2 surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study. laser, surgical castration with a scalpel, or sham (uncastrated control). Piglets were video recorded in their pens for 1 hr preprocedure and from 0 to 2, 6 to 8, and at 24 hr postprocedure for behavior scoring. Surgical site images were collected at baseline, 0, 8, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, 144, and 168 hr postcastration for wound healing assessment. Infrared thermography images of the surgical site were also taken at baseline, 0, 0.5, 8, and 24 hr post procedure to assess inflammation. Finally, blood was collected from each piglet at baseline and 0.5 hr postcastration to assess cortisol levels, prostaglandin E metabolite and pig-major acute phase protein concentration. Laser-castrated piglets displayed more pain behaviors across the observation period than scalpel-castrated piglets (P = 0.05). Laser-castrated piglets also displayed significantly more agonistic behavior than both scalpel-castrated piglets (P = 0.005) and sham piglets (P = 0.036); yet, laser castrated piglets had significantly lower temperatures at the site of incision compared with scalpel-castrated piglets (P = 0.0211). There was no significant difference in wound healing or any of the blood parameters assessed between laser castrated and scalpel-castrated piglets. There was evidence of thermal tissue damage on the scrotum of piglets that were castrated using the CO2 laser. This may have resulted in the unremarkable healing time and the increased pain behavior observed in this study. The surgical laser technique should be refined before conclusions can be made regarding the utility of a CO2 surgical laser for piglet castration to reduce pain and improve wound healing: a pilot study. laser for piglet castration.
- Publication
Journal of Animal Science, 2020, Vol 98, Issue 11, p1
- ISSN
0021-8812
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1093/jas/skaa320