OZONE THERAPY IN TWO GERIATRIC MALE DOGS WITH POOR VASCULARISED CHRONIC WOUNDS

Chronic wound management in geriatric patients is still a challenge for veterinary practitioners. Because of less or no physical activity, prolonged decubital positions, lack of peripheral blood flow and efficient immune system these patients are predisposed to a slower healing time of cutaneous lesions and perhaps to other complications like secondary infections, phlegmonas and finally chronic ulcerations with antibioresistant germ development. Even if not studied in veterinary medicine, direct topical and injectable ozone therapy is a frequently used treatment for human patients with type 2 diabetic ulcerations, which motivated us to perform this study. A 10 years old Great Dane with an ulcerated atonic 8/5 cm wound on the lateral side of the left distal tibia respectively a 7 years old German Shepard with an atonic 20/25 cm wound on the dorsal side of the neck were taken under study. After an unsatisfactory antibiotic treatment, the patients were infiltrated subcutaneously with ozone in a 15 mu g/ml dose, 0,5-1 ml/ point of inoculation at a distance of about 3 cm between points, followed by a topic treatment with 50 mu g/ml of ozone with the plastic bag method in one of the cases. The healing was evaluated by photographic means. Decreases of the wound dimensions were very evident after the very first treatment and complete healing was registered af-ter 16 days for the Great Dane and 46 days for the German Shepherd.