Granulation Tissue Management in the Horse (AAEP 2011)

Equine wounds need to be managed carefully to prevent the development of exuberant granulation tissue.
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There is a saying that "anything worth doing is worth overdoing." When it comes to healing lower leg wounds, some horses take this advice to heart and essentially "overheal" their injuries, resulting in the production of unsightly granulation (scar) tissue, commonly known as proud flesh. At 2011 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Nov. 18-22 in San Antonio, Texas, Richard Hackett, DVM, MS, Dipl. ACVS, from the Department of Clinical Sciences at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, discussed how to prevent the development of exuberant granulation tissue.

"Horses have little extra skin in the lower limbs, so injuries to this area often need to heal by a process called second intention healing," explained Hackett. "This means that granulation tissue needs to fill in the defect and cover tendons, ligaments, bone, and other important structures before new skin cells can migrate over top of the scar tissue to repair the wound. Granulation therefore produces much-needed healing tissue, but in some horses the process continues unabated and too much granulation tissue is produced."

In these horses, excess scar tissue is produced, and the skin cells aren’t able to migrate over top of the scar tissue to ultimately heal the wound. The result is a large, unsightly ball of tissue protruding from the limb.

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Written by:

Stacey Oke, MSc, DVM, is a practicing veterinarian and freelance medical writer and editor. She is interested in both large and small animals, as well as complementary and alternative medicine. Since 2005, she’s worked as a research consultant for nutritional supplement companies, assisted physicians and veterinarians in publishing research articles and textbooks, and written for a number of educational magazines and websites.

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