Comparison of equine amnion and a nonadherent wound dressing material for bandaging pinch-grafted wounds in ponies

Objective-To evaluate healing of pinch-grafted wounds on the distal aspect of the limbs of ponies bandaged with equine amnion or a standard nonadheren t wound dressing material. Animals-6 ponies. Procedure-A 2.5 x 2.5-cm full-thickness section of skin was removed from th e dorsal aspect of each limb at the midpoint of the metacarpus or metatarsu s. Six days later, wounds were grafted with partial-thickness pinch grafts. Half the wounds were bandaged with amnion, and the other half were bandage d with a nonadherent dressing. Bandages were changed every 3 days until wou nd healing was complete. At each bandage change, numbers of grafts lost wer e recorded, and wounds were measured. Results-Percentage of grafts lost from wounds bandaged with amnion was not significantly different from percentage lost from wounds bandaged with the nonadherent dressing. Median healing time for wounds bandaged with amnion ( 30 days) was significantly less than median healing time for wounds bandage d with the nonadherent dressing (39 days). All wounds were healed by day 45 . Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results suggest that amnion can be used for bandaging pinch-grafted wounds on the distal aspect of the limbs of pon ies.