Full-thickness skin grafting to cover equine wounds caused by laceration or tumor resection.
OBJECTIVE
To describe and evaluate full-thickness skin grafting of equine wounds.


METHODS
Case series.


METHODS
Adult horses (n=6).


METHODS
A full-thickness graft was harvested from the pectoral region with the horse anesthetized or standing and sedated after local anesthetic infiltration. Grafts were attached to the cutaneous margin of the wound with staples and/or sutures if the horse was anesthetized or if the recipient site was desensitized. Cyanoacrylate glue was used to attach the grafts to the cutaneous margin of the wound of 3 horses. Medical records were reviewed for history, physical examination findings, grafting technique, postoperative complications, and outcome.


RESULTS
Three horses had full-thickness skin grafting to cover a fresh defect created by excision of a cutaneous neoplasm, and 3 horses had full-thickness skin grafting to cover a fresh or granulating laceration. Grafts were completely accepted in 5 horses. The superficial layers of all grafts sloughed, but the final cosmetic appearance of accepted grafts was good.


CONCLUSIONS
Full-thickness skin grafting can be performed in standing sedated horses with good cosmesis, especially when the meshed graft is expanded minimally.


CONCLUSIONS
Good acceptance of a full-thickness graft can be expected, regardless of whether the graft is applied to a fresh or granulating wound.
Tóth
Ferenc
F
Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN, USA. ftoth@utk.edu
Schumacher
Jim
J
Castro
Fernando
F
Perkins
Justin
J
D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006097:Granulation Tissue; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000662:veterinary*; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery / Q000662:veterinary*