Suture-less Implantation of Acoustic Transmitters in Two Salmonids

Abstract

The surgical incision required to insert acoustic transmitters into fish peritoneal cavities is typically closed with sutures, staples, or cyanoacrylate adhesive. This study evaluated a novel tag insertion technique that did not use any method of wound closure. Twenty-six adult rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) and 26 adult brown trout (Salmo trutta) received a small, 6 mm abdominal incision. A dummy acoustic transmitter tag was inserted into half (N = 13) of the fish in each species. Neither group received any wound closure; no sutures, staples, nor adhesives were used. Tag retention, wound healing, and fish survival were monitored weekly for 13 weeks postsurgery. No fish died over the course of the trial. Tag retention was 100% and 85% in the tagged rainbow trout and brown trout, respectively. The wounds in the untagged rainbow trout were all completely healed by six weeks postsurgery, while wounds of the tagged rainbow trout were completely healed at nine weeks post-surgery. Similarly, wounds in the untagged and tagged brown trout groups were completely healed by the fifth and eighth weeks respectively. This study documents the effectiveness of using a small incision with no wound closure methods during insertion of acoustic tags into rainbow trout and brown trout peritoneal cavities.

Novel Surgical Technique for Acoustic Transmitter Insertion in Rainbow Trout Reduces the Need for Surgical Training

“…The results of this study support the suggestion of Huysman et al [3] that the novel, non-suture, lateral surgical technique can successfully be completed by a surgeon with minimal training or experience. It took the same amount of time for both the experienced and naïve surgeon to complete the novel lateral surgery described by Huysman et al [3] and Kelican et al [4].…”

“…The results of this study support the suggestion of Huysman et al [3] that the novel, non-suture, lateral surgical technique can successfully be completed by a surgeon with minimal training or experience. It took the same amount of time for both the experienced and naïve surgeon to complete the novel lateral surgery described by Huysman et al [3] and Kelican et al [4]. Thus, in addition to eliminating the inflammation caused by sutures, the incision-only technique is also beneficial because it eliminates the need for extensive surgical training.…”

“…However, two recent studies have documented the effectiveness of using non-suture surgical techniques during the implantation of acoustic transmitters. Huysman et al [3] and Kelican et al [4] used a small incision on either the ventral or lateral side of the fish without any form of wound closure; sutures were not used. This incision-only technique resulted in excellent tag retention and also decreased the redness and irritation associated with the use of sutures [3] [4] [5] [6].…”

“…Huysman et al [3] suggested that these unsutured techniques may reduce the need for extensive training and experience to conduct implantation surgeries.…”

“…Deters et al [8] even found a marked difference in surgical outcomes from a group of four highly trained surgeons. Because the surgical techniques described by Huysman et al [3] and Kelican et al [4] are relatively simple and do not require suture training, it is possible that they could be successfully used by inexperienced individuals. However, there are no published studies examining this possibility.…”