Re: [RC] Proud Flesh/wound treatment - Barbara McCrary
This is my experience with proud flesh:
My preference is silver nitrate sticks, dipped in
distilled water and rolled over the proud flesh. Yes, it is
caustic, but short of repeatedly excising it with a scalpel, it is a good way to
get rid of proud flesh. One of our horses went through the repeated
surgery routine, and I personally think the silver nitrate is less painful, less
inclined to scar, and more efficient. Less expensive, too, because
you can apply the silver nitrate, but it takes sedation of the horse and
nerve-blocking of the wound area to cut it with a scalpel. It bleeds
badly, too. I have never had a horse act like silver
nitrate hurt him at all. The proud flesh turns gray, gradually
develops a crust or scab on it. Then you peel off the scab and repeat the
silver nitrate application. Gradually, the proud flesh is reduced back to
a point where the skin can grow over the wound and complete the
healing.
Another treatment is Granulex, which seems to work
OK. I prefer silver nitrate sticks (you have to order them from a vet),
and I think they effect somewhat faster healing.
Another option is Cut Heal, which seems to work OK
enough, and it too is caustic via its sulfuric acid ingredient. It's a bit
messy on the horse, as it contains fish oil and balsam of fir. It makes a
sticky mess on the wound, but eventually will heal and the stickiness can
be removed.
The silver nitrate treatment was something we learned
from a vet back in 1959, and it is by far my personal favorite of treatment for
proud flesh.
Now...go ask a vet what he or she prefers, and no doubt
you will learn that they don't use silver nitrate any more. At least that
what our vet said.
Does anyone know what is the latest protocol with
regards to preventing proud flesh? I have a just turned one year
old who cut his hind leg (ripped skin off from knee down to coronet band) and
shaved a few slivers off of his flexor tendon.
He was never lame on it. I have been
keeping him stall bound, he is getting the bandage changed every day and it is
still a nasty looking mess. The vet comes weekly and last week we
put an ointment on it to knock back the proud flesh that was just starting at
the top of the wound. It looks worse this week. The ointment is
very caustic and I really don't want to use it if I don't have
too. I have put nothing else on the wound. Just rinse it
with saline daily and re-wrap.
Tomorrow it will be one month.
He's been in a stall the entire time. He has not got the
wound wet or dirty,.
He IS NOT getting better. It has
filled in a bit but is still about 4" x 6" and deep (say 1/3 and the tendon is
still visible) Tomorrow my Vet comes again. He wants to "trim"
around the wound. I have great reservations about this as he isn't
infected and why make this huge wound bigger? I'd
appreciate your comments.
Thanks
Darlene/NW WA
PS The vet wants him stall
bound, (not even hand walked) but he can buck and rear and does all
kinds of "airs above the ground in his stall" He's going stir
crazy that's for sure.
