الفهرس 
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Abstract
The aim of the present study is to evaluate the enhancement effects of application of polypropylene mesh and/or cod-liver oil on the healing of experimentally-induced large-sized metacarpal wounds in equines.
This study was done at the department of Surgery Anesthesiology and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut university on six clinically healthy adult donkeys (Equus asinus) of both sexes (3 males and 3 females) and one clinically healthy adult horse (female), obtained from the Experimental Animal House, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt. Animals was kept in standard stables and offered with balanced ration and supplied with water ad libitum.
A metacarpal wound was induced at the lateral aspect of the middle third of the metacarpus of both forelimbs. A rectangular-shape (5×10cm) skin excision was induced. The wound of the left forelimb was managed by suturing a corresponding piece of a polypropylene mesh with the four sides of the skin rectangle by absorbable suture material. The wound and the mesh were irrigated with cod-liver oil. A non-adherent dressing was applied on the wound followed by a supportive bandage of absorbent cotton and gauze rollers. The wound of the right forelimb was irrigated with cod-liver oil. A non-adherent dressing was applied on the wound followed by a supportive bandage of absorbent cotton and gauze rollers. Wounds were examined grossly at one-week intervals until complete healing for presence of swelling, inflammatory exudate, granulation tissue formation, scar formation, epithelialization, and time of wound healing. The wounds were photographed by digital camera to follow up the process of wound healing. Images were analyzed by software (Image J 4.48v software, National Institutes of Health, USA). The surface area (in cm2) of the wound was estimated to follow-up reduction in wound size and wound healing.
At the end of the study, animals were anesthetized. Afterward, full thickness biopsy specimens were obtained from the margins of wounds on days 28, 56, and 84 post-wound induction for general histopathological evaluation.
The clinical findings of mesh- implanted group showed that polypropylene mesh not only accelerated the process of wound healing but also regulated the formation of granulation tissues and limited its growth to not exceed the level of the skin with complete wound epithelialization and no remarkable scar formation which is advantageous in wound healing of the distal limb wound.
Histopathological findings revealed that the application of polypropylene mesh is advantageous for lateral metacarpal wound healing through re-epithelization, neovascularization, fibroblast proliferation, collagen maturation and reduced scar formation.
While clinical and histopathological findings of control group showed that the enhancement of wound healing appeared due to proper epithelialization, formation of healthy scar that showed higher degree of maturity with an increasing number of fibrocytes, and parallel collagen fibers.