Product Focus

In veterinary medicine there is a growing trend to select ‘biological’ dressings that create a physiological interface between the wound surface and the environment. Collagen dressings, such as Cyprofil (Pioneer Vet Products) are therefore a real option in the management of hard to heal wounds in dogs and cats See Case study 3.

A 5-year-old male Lhasa Apso presented to our specialist veterinary hospital with a 4 cm diameter soft tissue sarcoma on his caudal elbow that required surgical excision. The surgery was initially successful however the wound dehisced and open wound management was started using wet-to-dry dressings, changed on a twicedaily basis. Cultures of the wound revealed a profuse growth of Streptococcus canis, sensitive to amoxicillin clavulanate, so open wound management was continued in combination with oral antibiotics. The wound, located over the olecranon, was in a difficult area to allow primary closure using the adjacent skin due to tension. It was therefore important that a healthy and clean granulation bed of tissue was obtained to enable a thoracodorsal flap placement. A Cyprofil collagen dressing was selected following control of the infection because of the known effects on inflammatory mediators and the proliferation phase of wound healing in addition to the structural support that it provides to the wound bed. The dressing was cut to the size of the wound, facilitating multiple uses of one dressing and applied directly onto the wound bed. The dressing was then secured with a secondary and tertially dressing layer. The collagen dressing was changed every 3 days. The wound was not inspected between these changes to allow integration of the dressing with the wound surface.