A Translational Animal Model for Scar Compression Therapy Using an Automated Pressure Delivery System

Pressure therapy has been used to prevent and treat hypertrophic scars following cutaneous injury despite the limited understanding of its mechanism of action and lack of established animal model to optimize its usage.

The aim of this work was to test and characterize a novel automated pressure delivery system designed to deliver steady and controllable pressure in a red Duroc swine hypertrophic scar model.

Excisional wounds were created by dermatome on 6 red Duroc pigs and allowed to scar while assessed weekly via gross visual inspection, laser Doppler imaging, and biopsy. A portable novel automated pressure delivery system was mounted on developing scars (n = 6) for 2 weeks.

The device maintained a pressure range of 30 ± 4 mm Hg for more than 90% of the 2-week treatment period. Pressure readings outside this designated range were attributed to normal animal behavior and responses to healing progression. Gross scar examination by the Vancouver Scar Scale showed significant and sustained (>4 weeks) improvement in pressure-treated scars (P < .05). Histological examination of pressure-treated scars showed a significant decrease in dermal thickness compared with other groups (P < .05). Pressure-treated scars also showed increased perfusion by laser Doppler imaging during the treatment period compared with sham-treated and untreated scars (P < .05). Cellular quantification showed differential changes among treatment groups.

These results illustrate the applications of this technology in hypertrophic scar Duroc swine model and the evaluation and optimization of pressure therapy in wound-healing and hypertrophic scar management.