AUTHOR=Wardlaw Jennifer L. , Gazzola Krista M. , Wagoner Amanda , Brinkman Erin , Burt Joey , Butler Ryan , Gunter Julie M. , Senter Lucy H. TITLE=Laser Therapy for Incision Healing in 9 Dogs JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science VOLUME=Volume 5 - 2018 YEAR=2019 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00349 DOI=10.3389/fvets.2018.00349 ISSN=2297-1769 ABSTRACT=

Laser therapy is becoming common place in veterinary medicine with little evidence proving efficacy or dosages. This study evaluated surgical wound healing in canines. Twelve Dachshunds underwent thoraco-lumbar hemilaminectomies for intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). Digital photographs were taken of their incisions within 24 h of surgery and 1, 3, 5, 7, and 21 days postoperatively. The first three dogs were used to create a standardized scar scale to score the other dogs' incision healing. The remaining 9 dogs were randomly assigned to either receive 8 J/cm2 laser therapy once a day for 7 days or the non-laser treated control group. Incision healing was scored based on the scar scale from 0 to 5, with zero being a fresh incision and five being completely healed with scar contraction and hair growth. All scar scores significantly improved with increasing time from surgery (<0.001). Good agreement was achieved for inter-rater reliability (p = 0.9). Laser therapy increased the scar scale score, showed improved cosmetic healing, by day seven and continued to be significantly increased on day 21 compared to control dogs (p < 0.001). Daily application of laser therapy at 8J/cm2 hastened wound healing in Dachshunds that received thoracolumbar hemilaminectomies for IVDD. It also improved the cosmetic appearance.