Today's Veterinary Practice

JUL-AUG 2011

Today's Veterinary Practice provides comprehensive information to keep every small animal practitioner up to date on companion animal medicine and surgery as well as practice building and management.

Issue link: http://todaysveterinarypractice.epubxp.com/i/38074

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 11 of 83

PEER REVIEWED Unique Therapies for Difficult Wounds Kristen O’Connell and Jennifer L. Wardlaw, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVS Traumatic wounds are frequently encountered by the small animal practitioner. T he inciting cause and severity of the wound dictate the duration of treatment, required materials/equip- ment, and labor intensity. Despite the avail- ability of cutting-edge antibiotics, age and underlying disease or concurrent illness may contraindicate administration. Many “old-school” remedies are re- emerging and have shown to be beneficial in wound treatment, including wounds that are complicated, nonhealing, and/ or infected. These topical treatments kill bacteria using pH and osmolarity, avoiding induction of bacterial resistance. Since each wound and patient is unique, there is no one set of rules regarding therapy. In addition, wounds change during the healing process, so a therapy used in the initial stages may delay healing if used too long. Proper research and knowledge of topical therapies is vital to correct usage and successful treatment. INDICATIONS All of the topical therapies discussed in this article are indicated for full thick- ness wounds without granulation tissue or those with superficial infections. Many of the therapies are bacteriocidal and promote granulation. See the Table for indications for specific therapies. 10 Today’s Veterinary Practice July/August 2011

Articles in this issue

Archives of this issue

view archives of Today's Veterinary Practice - JUL-AUG 2011