Equine skin grafting using the punch graft technique.
Abstract: This tutorial aims to illustrate and instruct on the technique of punch skin grafting in the horse. Unassigned: A 10-year-old paint gelding with a 9 X 6-cm chronic granulating wound to the left forelimb was utilized for this tutorial. Unassigned: The chronic wound was debrided with sharp dissection, and the limb was pressure bandaged overnight. Twenty-four hours later, the horse was sedated for punch skin grafting. The ventral pectoral region was aseptically prepared for skin harvest and locally anesthetized. An 8-mm biopsy punch was used to harvest the grafts. The subcutaneous tissue was then removed with a sharp No. 10 blade, with care taken to be as atraumatic as possible. A 6-mm skin biopsy punch was used to create recipient sites in the granulation bed. The grafts were placed with assistance of Brown-Adson tissue forceps and cotton-tipped applicators with attempt to orient the hair in the proper direction. The limb was bandaged with a nonadherent bandage. The owner was advised to carefully remove the bandage in 7 days using saline to prevent grafts from sticking to the bandage. Unassigned: The wound was completely epithelialized and hair growth was seen at the site by 5 weeks after surgery. Unassigned: Punch skin grafting is a procedure that can be performed by general practitioner veterinarians to improve and speed skin healing in regions where a healthy bed of granulation tissue is present.
Publication Date: 2025-07-02 PubMed ID: 40602619DOI: 10.2460/javma.25.04.0287Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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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.
Cite This Article
APA
Kamm JL, Odegaard J, Gaida J, King N.
(2025).
Equine skin grafting using the punch graft technique.
J Am Vet Med Assoc, 1.
https://doi.org/10.2460/javma.25.04.0287 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
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