EFFECT OF THE ENVIRONMENT ON FETAL SKIN WOUND-HEALING

Skin wound healing has been shown to be a different process in the fet us than in the adult animal. Some of these differences have been attri buted to the unique fetal environment tie, amniotic fluid). The aim of the present study is to compare fetal skin healing in intraamniotic a nd extraamniotic wounds. A fetal rabbit model has been used in which t hree types of skin wounds were induced on 23-day-old fetuses in contac t with either amniotic fluid or maternal peritoneal fluid. The wounds consisted of a sutured skin incision, a nonsutured incision, and an el ectrocautery burn. Seven days later all wounds were examined mechanica lly (scar resistance), biochemically (collagen and noncollagen protein concentration), and histologically. Biochemical and growth factor stu dies of both environments, the amniotic and the peritoneal fluids, wer e also conducted. The results showed excellent healing by first intent ion and absence of healing by second intention in both environments, g reater scar resistance in the intraperitoneally positioned fetal wound s, and a higher concentration of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the peritoneal fluid than in the amniotic fluid. It can be conclude d that fetal skin wounds in contact with peritoneal fluid show the sam e healing pattern as in the natural fetal environment (amniotic fluid) . The higher concentration of IGF-1 in the peritoneal fluid suggests t hat this growth factor, through its relationship with the growth hormo ne, plays a role in increasing the scar resistance of fetal skin wound s in contact with maternal peritoneal fluid. Copyright (C) 1997 by W.B . Saunders Company.