Biomechanical properties of skin and wounds in Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.

The biomechanical properties of wounded and nonwounded skin were studied in three dogs and three cats affected with type I Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. Three nonaffected dogs and one nonaffected cat served as controls. Samples of wounded skin and adjacent normal skin were harvested at days 75, 138, 141, 144, 147, and 150. Samples were subjected to uniaxial tensile strength testing. Tensile strength, energy absorbed, and site of failure were recorded. In the dogs with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, there was an increase in tensile strength in samples containing a scar over adjacent intact skin. In nonaffected dogs, affected cats and the nonaffected cat, the nonwounded skin samples had greater tensile strength. The energy absorbed by the skin samples during testing was highly correlated with tensile strength.