citation_inspection: 200

Personnel conducting procedures on the species being maintained or studied will be appropriately qualified and trained in those procedures: During the routine inspection including review of IACUC's meeting minutes, it was discovered that an adverse animal event had been investigated and self-reported to OLAW. The AC inspectors then investigated the circumstances surrounding this incident. The event involved a male pig which underwent an abdominal surgical procedure, and during closure of the surgical site the pig's urethra was accidentally ligated by incorporation into the suture line. The condition was detected and treated appropriately by the veterinary staff, and the pig was humanely euthanized in a timely fashion. Upon further investigation, the IACUC concluded that the surgeon performing the procedure was unfamiliar with male pig anatomy, as only females had been used previously, and that improper training to conduct this procedure on a male pig was a contributing factor to this adverse event. The IACUC then required the PI to ensure that training was sufficient to eliminate the possibility of another such adverse event, and the PI voluntarily indicated that the surgeons involved in these experiments would no longer use male pigs. Because an animal was prematurely euthanized due to an error in surgical training that was rectified subsequently by the IACUC, this constitutes a serious animal welfare incident. Personnel must be adequately trained on conducting the procedures, taking into consideration species, anatomy, etc.; it is the job of the IACUC to ensure that this training is adequate to prevent adverse surgical errors and avoid serious animal welfare impacts. This incident had been fully investigated and corrected by the IACUC at the time of inspection. The routine inspection, records review, and exit briefing was conducted with various responsible University of Michigan staff. Additional Inspectors Campitelli D.V.M Kathryn, Veterinary Medical Officer