Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap
Veterinary intervention in zoological species can be complicated by species-specific social dynamics. African wild dogs are a pack species and removal or separation of an individual may disrupt established pack hierarchy resulting in conspecific aggression. Therefore, medical interventions that opti...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1470528/full |
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| author | Armen M. Brus Armen M. Brus Maureen Spinner Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Kimberly A. Thompson Kimberly A. Thompson |
| author_facet | Armen M. Brus Armen M. Brus Maureen Spinner Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Kimberly A. Thompson Kimberly A. Thompson |
| author_sort | Armen M. Brus |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Veterinary intervention in zoological species can be complicated by species-specific social dynamics. African wild dogs are a pack species and removal or separation of an individual may disrupt established pack hierarchy resulting in conspecific aggression. Therefore, medical interventions that optimize a quick return to health are ideal to minimize the duration of absence from the pack. These principles were utilized for a three-year-old male intact zoo-housed African wild dog (AWD) that presented with an episode of severe, acute, right-sided facial swelling. Swelling initially responded to medical management, however 6 days later the facial swelling worsened. The AWD was anesthetized and required extensive debridement of necrotic tissue. The absence of deep bacteria on histopathologic evaluation and a negative bacterial culture was suggestive of envenomation. The resultant open wound was managed every other day with debridement and topical manuka honey covered with a tie-over bandage. Each wound therapy treatment required general anesthesia but resulted in a healthy granulation tissue bed 9 days following initial debridement. Rather than proceeding with second intention healing and continued bandage changes, a transpositional skin flap surgical procedure was performed and enabled full closure of the large skin defect with complete tissue apposition and a good cosmetic outcome. The surgery reduced the number of anesthetic events and time that would have been required for second intention healing of the defect, which enabled a more rapid and ultimately successful reintegration of this individual into the pack without any perceived changes to the hierarchical structure. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-4f7b7d6d5910413ca5cf00e536fe2ce42025-01-07T06:41:03ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692025-01-011110.3389/fvets.2024.14705281470528Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flapArmen M. Brus0Armen M. Brus1Maureen Spinner2Tess Rooney3Tess Rooney4Tess Rooney5Kimberly A. Thompson6Kimberly A. Thompson7College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesSchool of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, United StatesCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesBinder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, MI, United StatesSan Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, San Diego, CA, United StatesSchool of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United StatesCollege of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesBinder Park Zoo, Battle Creek, MI, United StatesVeterinary intervention in zoological species can be complicated by species-specific social dynamics. African wild dogs are a pack species and removal or separation of an individual may disrupt established pack hierarchy resulting in conspecific aggression. Therefore, medical interventions that optimize a quick return to health are ideal to minimize the duration of absence from the pack. These principles were utilized for a three-year-old male intact zoo-housed African wild dog (AWD) that presented with an episode of severe, acute, right-sided facial swelling. Swelling initially responded to medical management, however 6 days later the facial swelling worsened. The AWD was anesthetized and required extensive debridement of necrotic tissue. The absence of deep bacteria on histopathologic evaluation and a negative bacterial culture was suggestive of envenomation. The resultant open wound was managed every other day with debridement and topical manuka honey covered with a tie-over bandage. Each wound therapy treatment required general anesthesia but resulted in a healthy granulation tissue bed 9 days following initial debridement. Rather than proceeding with second intention healing and continued bandage changes, a transpositional skin flap surgical procedure was performed and enabled full closure of the large skin defect with complete tissue apposition and a good cosmetic outcome. The surgery reduced the number of anesthetic events and time that would have been required for second intention healing of the defect, which enabled a more rapid and ultimately successful reintegration of this individual into the pack without any perceived changes to the hierarchical structure.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1470528/fullLycaon pictustranspositional flapwoundwound managementsecondary closure |
| spellingShingle | Armen M. Brus Armen M. Brus Maureen Spinner Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Tess Rooney Kimberly A. Thompson Kimberly A. Thompson Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap Frontiers in Veterinary Science Lycaon pictus transpositional flap wound wound management secondary closure |
| title | Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| title_full | Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| title_fullStr | Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| title_full_unstemmed | Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| title_short | Case report: Surgical closure of a facial defect in an African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| title_sort | case report surgical closure of a facial defect in an african wild dog lycaon pictus utilizing a transpositional skin flap |
| topic | Lycaon pictus transpositional flap wound wound management secondary closure |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2024.1470528/full |
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