Free, autologous, skin transplantation in the horse

Seven pieces of autologous skin were transplanted onto freshly created, full thickness skin defects on the limbs and back of a one-year-old, male, piebald, Shetland pony. The transplantations were completed in two operative sessions, the transplants on the left side were done in the first session and the right side in the second. The sizes of the transplants varied from 20 sq cm to 2 sq cm and their thicknesses from whole skin to very thin, split skin. Donor sites were both rumps and the right side of the neck. Six of the seven grafts and two thirds of the remaining graft, were accepted. Both whole thickness transplants grew hair, whereas no hair growth was detected at the 26th and 16th week following surgery on the split thickness transplants placed on the left and right sides respectively. The full thickness donor sites healed by granulation, contraction and epithelialisation. Healing at the split skin donor sites was rapid and uneventfull, epithelialisation being completed within one week and hair growth manifest by one month.