Abstract
Aims:To investigate the efficacy of dried gamma-irradiated amniotic membrane dressing for the healing of full-thickness skin wounds, using a rabbit model. Materials and Methods: This study was performed in the Oral and Maxillofacial sugery Department, College of Dentistry, University of Mosul, Iraq. Twenty, locally bred, six to eight months old male rabbits were planned to conduct the study. Bilateral full-thickness circular segments approximately 10 mm in diameter and nearly (3-4)mm in thickness were excised from the the back of each rabbit ( near to the mid-dorsum area) with a surgical blade; one dorsal skin wounding was performed lateral to the midline on right side, the other wound was performed lateral to the midline on left side. The right wound was used as an experimental wound and covered with dried amniotic membrane whereas the left wound was considered as a control wound. All wounds were covered with non adherent moist occlusive gauze. Animals were divided into four groups according to sacrificing date ( 3, 7, 14, 30) days. Skin specimens were collected after sacrificing the rabbits. The specimens were placed in formaldehyde and sent for histopathological examination and scoring for wound healing. Results: The histopathological findings of this study revealed that there was a significant difference of reepithelialization between the two groups at two weeks period, at p-value < 0.05, while there was no significant difference at 3 days, one week, and one month. Conclusions: This study concluded that amniotic membrane can be used as a safe dressing, promoting epithelialization on secondary wounds.
