Treatment of a chronic skin wound in a dog, using negative pressure wound therapy

A four-year-and-eight-month-old whippet was presented with a chronic skin wound situated at the medial aspect of the right elbow. Because of its chronic nature, the wound was initially carefully debrided and subsequently treated by means of negative pressure therapy. This fairly new technique offers a wide range of advantages that improve the healing capacities of a chronic wound. The beneficial effect of negative pressure wound therapy on the development of a nice granulation bed was clear. In order to optimize the final result, an autologous skin grafting (full-thickness free mesh graft) was performed. By applying negative pressure on the skin graft, a quick and solid attachment of the graft was achieved. After a period of four weeks, the wound was almost completely healed despite various earlier attempts to successfully treat that wound in the two-months period prior to referral.