Management of Diffuse Necrotic Cutaneous Wound in a Dog

A one-year-old male Terrier dog weighing 22 kg was presented to the Ahmadu Bello University Veterinary Teaching Hospital (ABUVTH), Zaria, Nigeria, with complaints of sloughing of the skin and purulent discharges from an injured (sloughed) shoulder. Clinical examination revealed normal vital parameters, extensive necrotized skin on the dorsum extending from loin to the right shoulder and enlarged superficial lymph nodes. Blood and wound swab samples were evaluated in the clinical haematology and Microbiology Laboratories of the ABUVTH, respectively. The Pathology result showed leucocytosis due to neutrophilia and monocytosis. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated from the wound swab. The wound was managed by wet-to-dry bandaging technique using topical antiseptics (Para-chloroaniline solution, chlorhexidine and povidone iodine), improvised non-adhesive protective membrane (polyethylene) applied at the wound-bandage interface, bandages along with adhesive tape and systemic antibiotics. Healing occurred uneventfully within 6 weeks of the intervention. The paper discusses the detail of the management initiated and how it greatly influenced the skin wound healing in dogs. In conclusion, proper initial assessment of wounds and appropriate treatment through rigorous wound assessment and bandaging are critical to success in the wound healing and restoration of tissue integrity. This management intervention could be further investigated in animals in order to improve the quality of cutaneous wounds management.