HANDS ON: Helping wounds heal 11 November 2016 Premium

HOME

USE PAPER CODESIGN IN

11 November 2016

Irish Field Contributor on 11 Nov 2016

HANDS ON: Helping wounds heal

Neil Mechie discusses treating wounds to ensure the best chance of complete healing

Irish Field Contributor

11 November 2016

A simple skin-stapled repair of a hind fetlock laceration. This horse healed very quickly and was back in ridden exercise within two weeks (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

The staples in place (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

A deep muscle wound on a horse's rump after it has been flushed clean (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

The muscle tear was sutured using an absorbable suture material which dissolves naturally into the body over time (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

Nylon sutures in a tension-relieving pattern used to close the skin wound. Small portions of the wound have been left open to allow free drainage of any exudates (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

The final picture shows the relatively small scar left after treatment. The horse returned to the racetrack 96 days after the injury and came second. Six days later, he ran again and won (Photo: Mark Johnston Racing)

Veterinary surgeon Neil Mechie

WOUND healing, by definition, is “the restoration of the normal anatomic continuity to a damaged area of tissue.”

In order to manage wounds in horses successfully, we must first understand the normal process of wound healing.

RELATED STORIES

Irish Field Contributor

HORSE SENSE: Feeding the breeding stallion

Head of nutritional advice at Gain Joanne Hurley talks through the importance of feeding breeding stallions for optimal health

Irish Field Contributor

Colic and what you should know

With the recent high profile case of Constitution Hill, Horse Sense turns its focus back to colic and what to do if you suspect your horse is colicking

Irish Field Contributor

Hands On: New light on fatal muscle disease

Michael Sadlier reports on discovery of tree link: Recent discovery of likely cause of baffling fatal muscle disease Atypical MyogloBinuria

Irish Field Contributor

Hands On: Windgalls or windpuffs

Liz O’Flynn explains this condition - are they a serious cause for concern?