Improved Healing of Sulfur Mustard-Induced Cutaneous Lesions in the Weanling Pig by Pulsed Co2Laser Debridement

Abstract

AbstractThe healing of cutaneous wounds induced by the chemical war-fare agent sulfur mustard [bis(2-chloroethyl)sulfide; HD] following pulsed CO2 laser debridement was examined in weanling pigs. Six animals (7-9 kg) were used to examine the efficacy of a Tru-Pulse CO2 laser in promoting improved healing. Each animal had 24 exposure sites on the dorsum. Eight sites were sham exposed, eight sites were exposed to saturated HD vapor for 5 min, and eight sites were exposed to saturated HD vapor for 15 min. Twelve sites on each pig were debrided using a pulsed CO2 laser. Two pigs were debrided each at 6, 24, and 48 h postexposure. The pigs were monitored during a 14-day healing period for erythema (by reflectance colorimetry), edema (Draize scoring), systemic toxicity (by hematological and clinical chemistry examinations), and lesion size (by video dermatoscopic examination and image analysis). At the end of the 14-day period, animals were euthanized and biopsies taken of all exposure sites for histopathologic...