Objective: The present study was done to monitor the progress of abdominal wound healing after experimental laparotomy in ewes using Doppler ultrasonography. Materials and methods: Laparotomy was performed in seven apparently healthy indigenous ewes for collection and transfer of embryos. Wound morphology was studied in terms of width of sutured area of internal wound (ventral raphae) and swelling of suture areas, width and contraction rate of external wound. Internal wound healing process was monitor at two days interval by real time B-mode ultrasonography using transabdominal (13 MHz frequency) transducer. The echoes focus or zone of best resolution was adjusted to the point of interest on the screen. Results: The average widths of raphae wounds declined from 7.7±0.18 mm on day 0 to 0.9±0.34 mm on day 20 and were completely healed on day 22 in all ewes. The average widths of skin wound decreased to 0.36±0.14 mm on day 26 from 8.6±0.33 mm on day 0. Conclusion: It was observed that internal wound healed rapidly than external wound.

The study was done to evaluate the effect of Xylazine-Ketamine and Xylazine-Thiopentone combinations for general anaesthesia in sheep. Six healthy sheep were divided into two groups: Group XK (n = 3), anaesthetized with Xylazine-Ketamine and Group XT (n = 3), anaesthetized with xylazine-thiopentone. Anaesthesia was induced using 1.1 mg/kg xylazine with 10 mg/kg ketamine or 20 mg/kg thiopentone as a single intravenous injection. Induction, duration and recovery from anaesthesia were monitored. Respiratory rate, heart rate and rectal temperature were recorded 15 min before and 5 min after induction, and 15 and 30 min and 24 hours after recovery. Packed Cell Volume (PCV) (%), Haemoglobin (Hb) (g/dL), Total Leucocyte Count (TLC) (millions per cubic millimetre) and Total Erythrocyte Count (TEC; Thousands per cubic millimetre) were measured before anaesthesia, one hour after induction and 24 hours after recovery. Heart rate increased significantly in both XT and XK groups and returned to control value 24 hours after recovery. Respiration rate decreased at 15 min after induction, then highly increased at 30 min and then returned to control value 24 hours after recovery in XK group. Rectal temperature decreased significantly in both groups. Hb, TLC, and TEC decreased, but PCV increased significantly in both groups. The mean time of induction of anaesthesia was less in XT group (0.2 ± 0.0 min) than in group XK (2.7 ± 0.1 min). The duration of anaesthesia and its recovery was less in Group XK than in Group XT. A combination of Xylazine-Ketamine and Xylazine-Thiopentone can be used to induce short term anaesthesia in sheep with negligible effects on clinical and haematological