ARA290 in a Rat Model of In fl ammatory Pain - Tissue-Protective Cytokines: Methods and Protocols - page 211

11. Shave the lateral aspect of the thigh from the sciatic notch to
the knee.
12. Clean surgical site with 70% ethanol, followed by disinfec-
tion with Videne antiseptic solution, working out from the
center.
13. Change into sterile gloves.
14. Using your fingers, feel for the ends of the femur (i.e., the hip
and knee joints).
15. Note a point mid way along the length of the femur.
16. Lift the skin using the curved forceps and at this midpoint,
make a small incision through the skin, just posterior to the
bone, with the ToughCut Mayo straight scissors.
17. Extend the length of the incision to approximately 10 mm fol-
lowing the long axis of the femur.
18. Separate the skin from the underlying subcutaneous tissue by
blunt dissection (see Note 3).
19. Locate the plane of fascia between the two heads of the biceps
femoris muscle. This plane can be identified as a white line
parallel to the femur.
20. Support the myofascia of the biceps femoris muscle with the
Dumont angled forceps and use the curved 8.5 cm Iris scissors
to carefully cut through the fascia. Use the Iris scissors to blunt
dissect between the muscle heads.
21. Once the sciatic nerve can be seen, use the Dumont angled
forceps to blunt dissect around the nerve (see Notes 4 and 5).
It may be necessary to use the Castroviejo sharply curved scis-
sors to cut the surrounding connective tissue.
22. Use the Goldstein Retractor or the curved forceps to open the
space between the muscle heads.
23. Just proximal to the trifurcation, clear approximately 5 mm of
connective tissue from around the nerve.
24. Take the strip of Gelfoam and submerge into the Eppendorf of
complete Freund's adjuvant (see Note 6). Place the Gelfoam
onto a gauze swab close to the surgery site.
25. Pass the tips of the curved forceps under the nerve. Using the
second set of curved forceps, carefully feed the Gelfoam below
the nerve. It is important not to stretch or damage any neural
tissue. Carefully draw the Gelfoam around the nerve, feeding
it through with the second pair of curved forceps (see Note 7).
Loosely wrap the ends of the Gelfoam over the top of the nerve
(Fig. 1 ).
26. Remove any excess complete Freund's adjuvant using the cot-
ton tipped applicators.