Comparison of soft dressing and rigid dressing in the healing of amputated limbs of rabbits.

Thirty white male New Zealand rabbits underwent forelimb amputation below the elbow under sterile operating conditions. Fifteen of the amputation stumps were dressed in a soft, bulky dressing while the remaining 15 rabbits had their stumps immobilized in a rigid plaster dressing. On each of the postoperative days 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15, three rabbits from each group were killed and the amputated limb disarticulated and fixed in formalin. Then, histological examination of the suture line and subcutaneous tissue was carried out by a pathologist to determine the effects, if any, that the type of immobilization has on wound healing. Based on microscopic evaluation of wound approximation, interstitial edema and presence of granulation tissue, there was no significant difference between the stumps immobilized in a plaster dressing and those dressed with a soft, bulky dressing.