EVALUATION OF THE ENHANCEMENT EFFECTS OF COD-LIVER OIL ON THE HEALING OF LARGE-SIZED METACARPAL WOUNDS IN EQUINES

Document Type : Research article

Authors

1 Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Egypt

2 Department of Pathology and Clinical Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt

3 Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt.

4 Department of Surgery, Anesthesiology and Radiology, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt

Abstract

Equine distal limb wounds are frequent and healed after a long time with the development of excessive granulation tissue and poor wound contraction and epithelialization. This study intended to investigate the effect of the local application of cod-liver oil on the healing of large-sized metacarpal wounds in equine. Three adult donkeys were generally anesthetized. A large-sized metacarpal full-thickness skin wound (5x10 cm) was inflected on the lateral aspect of the right forelimb. Cod liver oil was applied locally, followed by a protective bandage. Follow-up of the wound healing was evaluated at week intervals until healing was complete. Evaluation of healing was carried out by gross examination, photographing and image analysis by ImageJ software, and histopathology. Results revealed that granulation tissues filled the gap of the wound without signs of infection. Epithelialization was grossly observed by day 35. Reduction in wound size was significant by day 56 (60% reduction of the original size) and stayed significant until the end of the study. Histopathology revealed new blood vessels and epithelial hyperplasia, scar tissue heavily infiltrated with inflammatory cells at the surface of the wound area, and a moderate amount of collagen fiber. In conclusion, cod-liver oil was beneficial in the healing of surgically-induced large-sized wounds by the acceleration of epithelialization and enhancement of healthy scar formation. Therefore, it is recommended to use cod-liver oil for dressing recent surgical wounds.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics