Healing of porcine donor sites covered with silver-coated dressings

• Published in: The European journal of surgery 2000-06, Vol.166 (6), p.486-489
• Main Authors: Olson, Merle E., Wright, J. Barry, Lam, Kan, Burrell, Robert E.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Bandages; Biological and medical sciences; Disease Models, Animal; Medical sciences; Petrolatum - therapeutic use; Silver Compounds - therapeutic use; Skin Transplantation; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Swine; Technology. Biomaterials. Equipments; Transplantation, Autologous; Wound Healing - physiology; Wounds and Injuries - therapy
• ISSN: 1102-4151; 1741-9271
• DOI: 10.1080/110241500750008817

Objective: To compare rates of healing of donor sites in pigs between those dressed with silver‐coated dressings and those dressed with petrolatum‐impregnated absorbent gauze. Design: Open study with each animal acting as its own control. Setting: University research facility, Canada. Animals: 6 young specific‐pathogen‐free domestic pigs. Interventions: A total of 72 wounds about 1 cm × 2 cm × 0.4 mm were made in rows of eight on each pig with a dermatome. They were divided into three groups of 24, and dressed with petrolatum gauze, or silver‐coated dressings moistened with sterile water either once only or daily for 10 days. All dressings were secured in place with an elastic bandage. Main outcome measures: Erythema, infection, epidermal migration, and healing. Results: Wounds dressed with moistened silver‐coated dressings re‐epithelialised significantly more quickly. This resulted in complete re‐epithelialisation within 70% of the time taken by those wounds dressed with petrolatum gauze. Conclusion: Silver‐coated dressings provide a moist environment for the healing wound combined with an effective antimicrobial agent, and this significantly accelerates healing compared with wounds dressed with traditional petrolatum gauze dressings. Copyright © 2000 Taylor and Francis Ltd.