Studies on reconstruction of large skin defects following mammary tumour excision in dogs

The present study was carried out on the cases of canine mammary tumours presented to the Surgical Outpatient Unit of Madras Veterinary College Teaching Hospital. A total of 12 animals aged between 7 and 12 yr with mammary tumours measuring > 5 cm in size, with multiple gland involvement and regional lymph node enlargement with no evidence of distant metastasis were selected for the study. All the 12 cases were classified as stage III mammary tumours using TNM method of classification. Regional mastectomy was performed in 5 cases, bilateral caudal regional mastectomy performed in 2 cases, unilateral mastectomy in 3 cases and bilateral mastectomy in 2 cases. Reconstruction of the large skin defect after excision of tumour mass was done with elbow fold flap, flank fold flap and other reconstructive techniques. The common postoperative complications noticed were seroma, dehiscence, infection, haematoma, ischemic necrosis and hind limb oedema. Subjective evaluation of the skin flap was done on 2^nd, 4^th and 6^th postoperative days based on colour, temperature, capillary perfusion and cosmetic appearance using four point scale. Histological evaluation of the skin flap was done on days 3, 6 and 12 postoperatively for evaluation of healing status of the skin flap. The average healing time of skin flap in all the cases was 14.91±0.86 days and average survival of skin flap was 98%. It was concluded that the skin fold flaps along with other reconstructive techniques help in closure of large ventral skin defects without compromising the limb mobility, following mastectomy in dogs.