Topical application of gentamicin or cephalothin in the healing of surgical wounds in dogs

The present study aimed to evaluate the influence of local administration of gentamicin or cephalothin on the healing of surgical wounds in dogs. Thirty healthy dogs were submitted to surgical castration. They were divided into 2 groups of 15 animals. After the surgical procedure, two 0.6 cm circular cutaneous wounds were made in the abdominal region. Group 1 received 0.1 ml of 0.9% saline in one wound and 0.1 ml of gentamicin (40 mg / ml) in the other wound; and group 2 received 0.1 ml of 0.9% saline and 0.1 ml of cephalothin (200 mg / ml); respectively. All wounds were sutured and assessed macroscopically 1, 3 and 10 days after the operation. On day 10, an incisional biopsy was performed for histopathological evaluation. All analyzes of macroscopic variables did not show significant differences between groups (P <0.05). There were no significant differences between groups for microscopic evaluation of collagenization, vascularization, edema and inflammatory cells (P <0.05). Thus, the topical use of the tested antibiotics does not influence skin healing in dogs.