All surgical procedures were carried out under sterile conditions by single investigator who was uninformed of the group assignment. The rats were placed under general anesthesia with 6% isoflurane in 100% oxygen inside a sealed clear plastic chamber until they became motionless. Subsequently, the rats were kept on a nonrebreathing anesthetic circuit mask using 1–2% isoflurane in 100% oxygen. Before the incisions, Cefazolin (20 mg/kg; Chong Kun Dang Pharmaceutical Co., Seoul, Republic of Korea) was injected subcutaneously. Each rat’s plantar surface of the left hind paw was aseptically prepared for surgery. This study’s incisional pain model has been reported previously [10 (link)]. In brief, a blade was used to make a 1 cm longitudinal skin incision extending toward the digits on the plantar surface of the left hind paw, approximately 0.5 cm distal to the tibiotarsal joint. The plantaris muscle was separated, lifted slightly, and incised longitudinally. Two interrupted horizontal mattress sutures of 5-0 nylon were used to seal the wound.
Free full text: Click here
