Laparoscopic ovum pick-up in spotted paca (cuniculus pacas)

Abstract

The aim of this work is study the laparoscopic ovum pick-up (LapOPU) technique in spotted paca, describing surgery details, complications and oocyte recovery rate. Nine healthy adult non-pregnant captive females were used, in a total of 39 procedures. When the surgical plane of anaesthesia was achieved, the females were positioned at 20° Trendelenburg. Three 6mm trocars were placed on right and left inguinal and hypogastric regions. Abdomen was inflated with CO2 and the intra-abdominal pressure was stablished in 10mmHg. Follicular punctures were performed moving the ovaries with atraumatic forceps. For punctures, an 18-gauge 3.5 inch long needle attached to a vacuum system with pressure not exceeding 65mmHg was used. Oocytes were recovered into 50mL centrifuge tubes with media composed of PBS supplemented with 10 IU/mL of heparin and kept at 36°C. R Software was used for statistical analysis. Data normality distribution (Shapiro test) and variances homoscedasticity (Bartlett test) were tested and descriptive statistics (mean±SD) was used to present the results. It was only possible to perform LapOPU in 30 of 39 laparoscopies (76.92%). The surgical total time was 37.34 ± 18.53 minutes. The total number of visualized follicles, aspirated follicles, and retrieved oocytes were 502, 415, and 155, respectively. And the same parameters per animal were: 14.34 ± 12.23, 11.86 ± 10.03, and 4.43 ± 4.69 respectively. Oocyte recovery rate was 32.56 ± 27.32%. In conclusion, caudal positioning of portals with slight triangulation allows good viewing of the abdominal cavity and eases the manipulation of the ovaries. Thus this described LapOPU technique is feasible in spotted paca and easy to perform.