Low-dose ultrasound effects on wound healing: a controlled study with Yucatan pigs

This study reports on the effect of low-dose ultrasound in accelerating wound healing in matched pairs of surgically induced incisions and full-thickness and partial-thickness lesions in 11 Yucatan mini-pigs after 7 days of healing and 5 days of sonation. Tensile strength, collagen deposition (hydroxyproline), reduction in wound size (full-thickness lesion), and mast-cell degranulation were significantly greater in the sonated lesions than in the sham-treated controls (p = 0.01). Sonation enhanced strength by 24% and collagen deposition by 29%, when compared with controls. There were no significant differences in the quality of healing as measured by an ordinal scale. The results suggest that within the first week of healing, low-dose ultrasound facilitates wound healing. More research is needed to confirm the most effective dose, frequency, and treatment duration and intervention time for maximum healing.