Equine skin grafting using the punch graft technique.

The research article is a tutorial on the punch skin grafting technique in horses, demonstrated by treating a chronic granulating wound on a 10-year-old horse. The process resulted in complete epithelialization and notable hair growth, suggesting its viability for improving and speeding skin healing in horses.

Chronic Granulating Wound Treatment

• This study involves treating a chronic granulating wound on a 10-year-old horse.
• The wound was first debrided, which is the process of removing dead or damaged tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue.
• After debridement, the wound was pressure bandaged overnight, preparing it for the grafting process.

Punch Skin Grafting Procedure

• Twenty-four hours after the wound preparation, the horse was sedated, and the skin grafting procedure began.
• The skin was harvested from the ventral pectoral region of the horse, which was cleaned and numbed locally for the procedure.
• An 8-mm biopsy punch was used to harvest the grafts, and the subcutaneous tissue was removed very carefully using a sharp blade.
• A 6-mm skin biopsy punch was then used to create the recipient sites in the granulation bed.
• The grafts were carefully placed using assistance of Brown-Adson tissue forceps and cotton-tipped applicators, with effort made to ensure proper hair direction.
• The wound was bandaged with a nonadherent bandage, and the owner was directed to remove the bandage after 7 days with the use of saline to avoid the grafts sticking to the bandage.

Post-Surgery Observations and Applications

• Five weeks after the surgery, it was observed that the wound had completely epithelialized (new skin had grown over it) and hair was growing at the grafting site.
• This suggests that punch skin grafting procedure can help expedite the skin healing process in regions with a presence of healthy granulation tissue.
• This technique can be performed by general practitioner veterinarians, potentially widening its use and application in veterinary procedures.