Factors affecting the duration of anesthesia and surgery of canine and feline gonadectomies performed by veterinary students in a year-long preclinical surgery laboratory.

OBJECTIVE

To determine factors affecting the duration of canine and feline gonadectomies performed by second-year veterinary students.

STUDY DESIGN

Retrospective study of 1288 gonadectomies.

SAMPLE POPULATION

One hundred ninety-four second-year veterinary students in a 24-week veterinary surgical teaching laboratory.

METHODS

Surgical and anesthetic records were analyzed and arranged by primary surgeon in chronological order. Species, sex, weight, body condition score, occurrence of an intraoperative complication, and order of sequential cases in the year performed by the primary surgeon were assessed for their influence on anesthesia, surgery, and preparation times.

RESULTS

Each student performed an average of 6.6 (±1.08) gonadectomies over 24 weeks. Dogs, females, increasing weight, intraoperative complications, and earlier sequential cases were associated with longer duration of surgery and anesthesia. These factors accounted for 50% and 59% of anesthetic and surgical time variance, respectively. The rate of intraoperative complications did not change across time but was higher during canine ovariohysterectomies. Duration of anesthesia and surgery for canine orchiectomy decreased by 29 and 21 minutes, respectively, and for canine ovariohysterectomy decreased by 16 and 12 minutes, respectively, over 24 weeks without reaching a learning plateau.

CONCLUSION

Species, sex, weight, complications, and earlier sequential cases influenced duration of anesthesia and surgery.

CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE

By establishing a baseline for duration of student-performed surgeries and describing the relative impact of factors influencing duration, students and educators may be able to set goals for student improvement during teaching laboratories.