Kinetics of healing of grafted and nongrafted wounds on the distal portion of the forelimbs of horses.

This research was undertaken to investigate the healing rates of grafted and non-grafted wounds on horse forelimbs. The results showed the pace of healing to be unaffected by the use of punch grafts, with three distinct phases (expansion, contraction, epithelialization) progressing at similar speeds in both cases.

Methodology

• Six horses had two full-thickness, circular cutaneous wounds each made on their distal forelimbs. The wounds were of 5 cm diameter.
• For each horse, one of the wounds was treated on day 14 with 6 punch grafts, taken from the horse’s neck. The other wound on the contralateral limb was left non-grafted.
• On each bandage change, ticarcillin disodium and clavulanate potassium were applied to the wounds to prevent bacterial infection.
• The wound areas were measured at several intervals from day 1 to 32, and recorded for analysis.

Results

• The wound healing was observed in three distinct phases – expansion, contraction, and epithelialization.
• The course of each phase was evaluated with formulas of first-order processes.
• The rate constants of these phases were compared between the grafted and non-grafted wounds.
• No significant difference (P less than 0.05) was observed in the rate constants between the grafted and non-grafted wounds, indicating that the use of punch grafts did not affect the pace of healing.

Conclusion

• The research found that the use of punch grafts in the treatment of full-thickness cutaneous wounds on horse forelimbs did not alter the healing process rates. Regardless of whether the wound was grafted or non-grafted, the healing stages of expansion, contraction, and epithelialization occurred at similar speeds.
• This study provides valuable insights into the healing process of these specific types of wounds in horses and highlights that punch grafting doesn’t affect the overall healing time.