Abstract
Aim:The main objective of the study was to describe the use of skin fold advancement flaps (SFAFs) and other reconstructive techniques for closure of large skin defects following mammary tumor excision in dogs.Materials and Methods:Twelve dogs underwent reconstruction of large ventral skin defects following mammary tumor excision with wide margins. Skin fold flaps (flank fold flap and elbow fold flap) were elevated from the flank and elbow region, respectively, and transposed and sutured onto the large ventral skin defect following mastectomy in all the dogs. In addition to the skin fold flaps, other reconstructive techniques such as undermining, walking sutures, and tension-relieving suture techniques were followed during surgery in the closure of large skin defects without skin tension and compromising limb mobility. The skin flap viability was assessed subjectively by gross observation of the flap such as color, temperature, capillary perfusion, and cosmetic appearance, and scoring (1-4) was done. Tissue samples were collected from a surgical site on days 3, 6, and 12 post-operatively for histopathological evaluation and healing status of the skin flap.Results:All the surgical wounds healed primarily, without any major complications and the skin flap remained healthy throughout the healing process post-operatively. Distal flap necrosis was noticed in one case and necrosis of skin flap between two suture lines was noticed in another case in which the necrotized distal portion healed by secondary intention after 7 days. The mean survival of subdermal plexus flap in the above cases was 98% which was a subjective evaluation based on surface area of the skin defect measured by Image’ J software and the flap dimensions. The average healing of skin flap in days was 14.91±0.86.Conclusion:The SFAFs along with other reconstructive techniques help in the reconstruction of large ventral skin defects following mastectomy in dogs without much compromising limb mobility.
Highlights
The mammary glands in dogs are modified skin glands located bilaterally on the ventral surface of the animal from the cranial thorax to the perivulvar area which comprises of cranial thoracic, caudal thoracic, cranial abdominal, caudal abdominal, and inguinal glands from cranial to caudal region [1,2]
Distal flap necrosis was noticed in one case and necrosis of skin flap between two suture lines was noticed in another case in which the necrotized distal portion healed by secondary intention after 7 days
Carcinoma [3,4,5].The various surgical procedures have been described for the dogs ranging from local excision to radical excision and were found that there was no difference in recurrence rates and survival times following surgery [6,7]
Summary
The mammary glands in dogs are modified skin glands located bilaterally on the ventral surface of the animal from the cranial thorax to the perivulvar area which comprises of cranial thoracic, caudal thoracic, cranial abdominal, caudal abdominal, and inguinal glands from cranial to caudal region [1,2]. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated. Skin fold advancement flaps (SFAFs) were first devised as a means of closing large sternal and inguinal wounds in dogs which have four attachments such as medial and lateral attachments to the upper limb and dorsal and ventral attachments to the trunk [8,9].
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