Skin Flashcards
Cutaneous circulation in dogs, cats, and humans. The subdermal plexus is formed and supplied by terminal branches of direct cutaneous vessels at the level of the panniculus muscle in dogs and cats. Note the parallel relationship of the direct cutaneous vessels to the overlying skin compared with the perpendicular orientation of musculocutaneous vessels in humans.
The apex cutaneous suture. The forces are represented by the blue arrows below the illustration. Small dog ear defects can be repaired with this technique to pull the raised skin down and away from the wound.
Techniques for correcting dog ears. A, Removal of two small triangles. B, Removal of one large triangle. C, Extension of the fusiform excision. D, Removal of an arrowhead-shaped piece of skin. E, Half-Z correction.
Correction of dog ears on crescent-shaped defects. A, “Fudging” technique for placing sutures to eliminate dog ears when discrepancy between sides is small. Sutures are farther apart on the longer side of the wound. B, Suturing by the rule of halves. Sutures are placed to halve remaining defects. C, Suturing from the ends to the center with central dog ear removal. D, Suturing from one end to the other with dog ear removal at one end. E, Suturing from the center to the ends with dog ear removal on both ends. F, Lengthening the short side of a defect with half of a fusiform excision
Four methods to correct a step defect. A, Manipulation of suture knot. B, Placement of suture at the same depth on both sides of the wound. C, Half-buried horizontal mattress suture with intradermal portion on the low side of the wound. D, Placement of a piece of stiff untied suture from superficial on the high side to deep on the low side.
For larger discrepancies, a half bow-tie technique can be used, excising an equilateral triangle from the longer edge to lessen the disparity
A triangular defect on the trunk can often be closed after undermining by suturing from each angle. A half-buried mattress suture is used to close the central portion.
