ANIMAL STUDY

Naturajel vs no gel after tonsillectomy

A two-animal pilot at the Stony Brook University Medical Center Animal Lab, following food intake, body weight and behavior after surgery.

Study design and findings

ANIMALS
Two healthy 3-year-old beagles
SURGERY
Tonsillectomy under general anesthesia, using the Medtronic BiZact device
GROUPS
Dog G: gel on both tonsil beds. Dog N: nothing applied.
POST-OP
No analgesia given to either dog. Hard dry dog food and water only.
MEASURED
Body weight, oral intake and behavior for 10 days
  • Gel retention: present on days 1 to 4, absent by day 7.
  • Food: consumption was much higher for dog G, and this persisted through day 10.
  • Liquid: intake was higher for dog N, which investigators attributed to throat pain.
  • Weight: stable in both dogs, through food in dog G and through liquid in dog N.

Surgical images

Red arrowheads mark the tonsil bed.

Intra-operative view of the dog with no gel, open mouth with tonsil bed marked
Intra-op baseline: no gel
Intra-operative view of the treated dog, with blue gel on the tonsil bed
Intra-op baseline: gel in place
Post-operative day 4 view of the dog with no gel
Post-op day 4: no gel
Post-operative day 4 view of the treated dog with gel in place
Post-op day 4: gel in place

Treated dog ate more, and the gap kept growing

Running total of food eaten. By day 10: about 5,520 g treated vs. 3,930 g control.

Hover over the chart to read each day.

Treated (gel) Control (nothing applied)
02,0004,0006,0008,000 24681012 Days after surgery Treated 6,770 g Control 5,180 g
View data table
Day123456789101112
Treated (g)1815821,1641,9242,4472,7423,2724,1974,8885,5196,1306,767
Control (g)1295729601,2841,5911,9042,3212,9163,3503,9284,5625,179