Experimental reconstruction of teat cutaneous wound by ear skin graft in dairy cattle

Authors

1 Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

2 Graduated from The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Teat lacerations are serious injuries that
endanger the survival of a cow within the herd. In excessive
lacerations, the wound should be left to heal by second intention
healing process. However, tissue contraction during healing can
change the alignment of the teat, creating problems for machine
milking. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to
evaluate the transplantation of the full-thickness free skin graft
in excessive teat lacerations. METHODS: Four healthy, nonpregnant,
mixed Holstein-Friesian dairy cows with normal teats
were used in the study. Under local anesthesia, a rectangular full
thickness excision (2 Cm×2 Cm) was made on the lateral surface
of the proximal part of the right and left fore teats of each cow,
and simultaneously a rectangular full-thickness free skin graft
(1.5 Cm×1.5 Cm) was harvested from the inner surface of the left
pinna. The graft was then meshed and transplanted to the left teat
defect. During a three-week study, the wound healing was
evaluated clinically and at the end of the study, histopathologic
samples (H &E staining) were taken from both wounds.
RESULTS: The results of this study demonstrated that in nongrafted
wounds, severe wound contraction caused a deformity in
normal anatomical structure of the teats. However, in grafted
wounds successful graft take was recorded in all wounds, and the
teats restored their functional and anatomical structure with
satisfactory cosmetic appearance. CONCLUSIONS:According to
the result of present study, it can be concluded that using fullthickness
free mesh skin graft can be considered a suitable
method for treatment of excessive teat lacerations.

Keywords

Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine
Volume 7, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
January 2014
Pages 271-276

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