Comparative Aspects of the Healing of Excisional Wounds on the Leg and Body of Horses |
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| Authors: | K A JACOBS BVSc MVSc MACVSc D H LEACH MSc PhD P B FRETZ VMD DiplomatEACVS H G G TOWNSEND DVM MSC |
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| Institution: | Department of Veterinary Clinical Studies, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada;Department of Veterinary Anatomy, Western College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. |
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| Abstract: | Standardized 20 mm diameter excisional skin wounds were made on the body and distal limbs of 6 ponies at 18,12, 4, and 2 weeks prior to biopsy. The results of comparative area analysis of leg and body wounds show that leg wounds take significantly longer to heal than body wounds. There is a longer preparatory phase and a greater amount of wound retraction in the leg wounds. At 12 weeks postwounding, the area of the epithelium covering the wound site is significantly larger in the leg wounds compared to the flank wounds. Histological examination of the wounds showed that there is less epithelialization of leg wounds at 2 and 4 week postwounding, and that the granulation tissue of these wounds extends slightly above the level of the adjacent skin. Within the granulation tissue of leg wounds, there are clefts filled with fibrin and inflammatory cells. Once epithelialization is completed, the leg wounds are covered by acanthotic epidermis with numerous large epidermal projections. In contrast, the flank wounds are covered by thin epidermis devoid of epidermal projections. One wound at 18 weeks postwounding had histological features typical of a keloid. |
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