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.HOUGH SKIN LACERATIONS occur commonly in T horses, particularly involving the distal limbs,',* little research has been conducted into equine skin wound healing. Most research into equine skin wounds has been directed toward developing reliable techniques for skin grafting. Although descriptions of both excisional and incisional wounds in equine skin are there is no presently available detailed description of the histology of the healing of incisional or excisional wounds in the horse.Lower leg skin wounds of horses are reported to have slower rates of wound contraction than those on the ~h o u l d e r .~ Wounds of the distal limbs frequently develop exuberant granulation tissue and therefore may pose difficult therapeutic problems.' Very extensive wounds of the upper body, however, heal rapidly with few complications.1° These differences in wound healing have not been explained, although a number of possible causes have beenThe purpose of this study was to investigate macroscopic and microscopic differences in the healing of standardized skin wounds created on the body and distal limbs of ponies. Materials and MethodsSix normal adult ponies were used. Leg and body wounds were made at 18, 12, 4, and 2 weeks prior to wound harvesting. The wounds were made with the animals under general anesthesia. The skin at each surgical site was clipped, shaved, and scrubbed with povidone iodine* scrub, and povidone iodine solution* was applied prior to wounding.Three wound types were made on the body and one lower limb of each pony on each of the four wounding dates: a 20 mm diameter excisional wound, a cryogenic wound approximately 20 mm in diameter made by the application of liquid nitrogent with skin temperature at the periphery of the wound monitored with thermocouples$ until it reached WC, and a 20 mrn diameter excisional wound to which liquid nitrogen was applied to the wound pe...

If peripheral leakage is not amenable to simple downsizing of the indwelling voice prosthesis, we feel the purse-string suture is the first-choice treatment because of its safety, efficiency, low cost, and ease of application.

Four methods of treating granulating wounds on the dorsal aspect of the metacar‐pophalangeal and metatarsophalangeal joints of ponies were evaluated. The following treatments were used: Group 1—excision of the granulation tissue with no further treatment; Group 2—cryosurgery; Group 3—excision of the granulation tissue and pressure bandage; and Group 4—excision of the granulation tissue and immobilization of the limb with a plaster cast. The wounds in Group 1 healed fastest, without producing exuberant granulation tissue and with only moderate scar fibrosis. The wounds in Group 2 healed without producing exuberant granulation tissue but with marked scarring. Wounds in Groups 3 and 4 took longer (p < 0.001) to heal compared to wounds in Groups 1 and 2. Wounds in Groups 3 and 4 produced exuberant granulation tissue, but the resultant scars were the least fibrotic.

Wound closure utilizing tension-relieving incisions located in the skin adjacent to the wound of horses was evaluated in three experiments. Healing of lower limb wounds was compared in four treatment groups; wounds sutured under tension, wounds sutured with 7 mm and 10 mm tension relieving incisions, and unsutured controls. The wounds sutured using 10 mm tension relieving incisions healed significantly faster than the other three groups (p > 0.05). The mesh expansion technique was further evaluated in four-week-old granulating wounds. The technique was found to be unsuccessful because the tension relieving incisions that were used were too small and postoperative support was inadequate. The technique was evaluated in two clinical patients, both of which had large metatarsal lacerations. Tension relieving incisions of approximately 15 mm were made and full leg walking bar casts were applied. Both wounds had healed almost completely on removal of the casts four weeks postoperatively.