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Healing of porcine donor sites covered with silver-coated dressings
1LESARC, University of Calgary, AB, Canada.
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 x 2 cm x 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.
