Regional disturbances in blood flow and metabolism in equine limb wound healing with formation of exuberant granulation tissue

Abstract

As in other fibroproliferative disorders, hypoxia has been suggested to play a key role in the pathogenesis of exuberant granulation tissue (EGT). The purpose of this study was to investigate metabolism and blood flow locally in full-thickness wounds healing with (limb wounds) and without (body wounds) formation of EGT. Microdialysis was used to recover endogenous metabolites from the wounds, and laser Doppler flowmetry was used to measure blood flow. Measurements were performed before wounding and 1-28 days after wounding. Blood flow was consistently lower in limb wounds than in body wounds throughout the study period with no change over time. After wounding and throughout the study period, the glucose concentration was significantly lower in limb wounds than in body wounds, whereas the lactate level showed a significantly higher concentration in limb wounds. The lactate/glucose ratio displayed a significant difference between body and limb wounds. In conclusion, the metabolic disturbances may suggest an inadequate oxygen supply during the wound healing process in equine limb wounds healing with EGT. This may be related to the inherently decreased perfusion in the wound bed of limb wounds.