Influence of hypoandrogenism in skin wound healing resistance in rats

Objective: The objective of the present study is to verify the effect of testosterone depletion on healing of surgical skin wounds at different ages and postoperative times. Methods: Forty-four Wistar male rats were divided into four groups: Group 1y (n = 11) -young control, sham-operated rats (30 days-old); Group 1A (n = 10) - adult control, sham-operated rats (three to four months old); Group 2Y (n = 10) young rats after bilateral orchiectomy; and Group 2A (n = 11) -adult rats after bilateral orchiectomy. After six months, a linear incision was performed on the dorsal region of the animals. The resistance of the wound healing was measured in a skin fragment with a tensiometer, on the 7th and 21st postoperative days. Results: The wound healing resistance was higher in Group 1Y than in Group 2Y after seven days (p < 0.05). Wound healing resistance at 21 days was higher than at seven days in all groups (p < 0.05). Late wound healing resistance was not different between young and adult rats. Conclusions: Bilateral orchiectomy decreased the wound healing resistance only in young animals at the seventh postoperative day.