A comparison of cyanoacrylate to sutures for wound closure following acoustic transmitter insertion in rainbow trout

Abstract Tag retention, wound healing, wound closure, and tagged fish survival are critically important after surgical implantation of acoustic transmitters in fish. This study compared the use of sutures to cyanoacrylate adhesives and bandages for post-surgery wound closure. Adult rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss were assigned to one of seven treatments: a control group where fish were only handled, two suture groups (tagged with dummy acoustic transmitters or non-tagged), and four cyanoacrylate adhesive groups (non-tagged, tagged with adipose fin applied as a biological bandage, tagged with anal fin applied, and non-tagged with water-proof bandage). Tag retention was significantly improved in adhesive with anal fin (89%) and tagged suture (78%) treatments when compared to only 11% tag retention in the adhesive with adipose fin treatment. Wound redness severity increased over the 14 weeks of the study in the tagged and sutured fish, and in those receiving the waterproof bandage. Wound redness severity was also significantly higher in the waterproof bandage and tagged and sutured treatments than both tagged adhesive treatments at the end of the study. Wound gape was significantly more severe in the adhesive with adipose treatment than in the control, suture, tagged suture, and adhesive treatments, but no significant differences were observed between the adhesive with adipose treatment and the adhesive with anal fin or bandage treatments. Wound gape never completely closed in the adhesive with adipose group, while both the tagged suture treatment and tagged adhesive with anal treatment wounds completely closed between four- and six-weeks post-surgery. The results of this study indicate that cyanoacrylate adhesive used in conjunction with anal fin tissue is a suitable post-surgical treatment.