Urodynamic studies in rats and mice are broadly used to examine pathomechnisms of disease and identify and test therapeutic targets. This review aims to highlight the effects of the anesthetics on the lower urinary tract function and seeks to identify protocols that allow recovery from anesthesia and repeated measurements while preserving the function which is being studied. All studies published in English language, which compared the data obtained under various types of anesthesia and the urodynamics performed in awake animals were included. It appears that urethane, an anesthetic recommended extensively for the investigation of lower urinary tract function, is appropriate for acute urodynamic studies only. Major advantages of urethane are its stability and ability to preserve the micturition reflex. Due to its toxicity and carcinogenicity, urethane anesthesia should not be used for recovery procedures. This review evaluated available alternatives including propofol, isoflurane and combinations of urethane, ketamine/xylazine, ketamine/medetomidine, and/or fentanyl/fluanisone/midazolam. Different effects have been demonstrated among these drugs on the urinary bladder, the urethral sphincter, as well as on their neuroregulation. The lowest incidence of adverse effects was observed with the use of a combination of ketamine and xylazine. Although the variations in the reviewed study protocols represent a limitation, we believe that this summary will help in standardizing and optimizing future experiments.

The purpose of this study is to identify a suture technique that provides superior cosmetic outcomes and proper wound healing for skin closure after midline laparotomy of small animals in a rabbit model. This study also attempts to clarify the role of selected four suture patterns in wound healing, wound complications, cosmetic impacts and histopathology on the laparotomy skin wound. Twenty four female rabbits of white New Zealand and California breeds were used for this experimental study. Four suture patterns were compared for cutaneous closure of a 7-cm midline laparotomy wound, classified as; buried continuous subcuticular-intradermal (BCSID), interrupted cruciate mattress (ICM), running horizontal mattress (RHM), and far-near-near-far (FNNF). The different groups were studied in terms of clinical findings, wound and suture biometrics, cosmetic assessment, microscopic examination, and statistical analysis. RHM presented a 'very good' cosmetic grade on a 6-element scale, clinically associated with rapid successful wound healing, and no complications. BCSID was superior in cosmetic terms among the tested groups where it showed an aesthetically 'excellent' score. However, the technique was not efficient enough to prevent wound dehiscence in some cases. ICM demonstrated a 'very good' cosmetic degree but was not functional enough to prevent invasive contamination or infection in certain instances. FNNF was the inferior among all groups in regards to the cosmetic outcomes but was characterized by successful, slowly-progressive healing. Suture-to-wound length (SL: WL) ratio of all groups seemed to have a correlation with the rate of wound dehiscence as wound dehiscence is unlikely to occur if a SL: WL ratio is more than 4:1. The microscopic results proved that the RHM suture pattern was the favourable technique. RHM can be concluded as the suture technique of choice for cutaneous closure of laparotomy wounds in small animals like rabbits. It serves as a compromise of high-quality cosmesis and optimal wound healing. The assessed suture techniques can be graded in a descending order from the superior to the inferior cosmetically as BCSID>RHM>ICM>FNNF, and histopathologically as RHM>FNNF>BCSID>ICM. Clinical trials are needed to be performed to validate and reproduce the outcomes of this study on canine and feline patients.

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