Histopathologic evaluation of canine urinary bladder wound healing following cystotomy using conventional and electrical scalpel

This research was conducted to compare the histopathologic characteristics of wound healing in the canine urinary bladder following full thickness incision using conventional and electrical scalpel. For this purpose, 24 adult healthy mixed breed dogs were randomly allocated to two groups of 12 dogs each. Cystotomy was performed for a length of 4 cm using conventional and electrical scalpel in control and treatment groups on the ventral surface of the bladder and the incision was routinely sutured. The incised area of bladder was harvested for histopathologic evaluation on days 0 (immediately after surgery), 3, 7, 14, 21 and 28 after surgery. The degree of haemorrhage, tissue trauma, inflammation, re-epithelialization, healing of mucosal and muscular layers and fibrotic reaction were graded and studied at the aforementioned time intervals. The results indicated that there were differences in urinary bladder wound healing during the course of the first 3 weeks in a way that tissue trauma was minimal and the speed of re-epithelialization, disappearance of inflammation and wound healing was faster in the control group while less haemorrhage was observed in the treatment group. Overall despite the differences observed, the process of wound healing had occurred similarly after the 28-day period in the two treatment groups and therefore the use of electrical scalpel in canine cystotomy is recommended to decrease haemorrhage and operation time without any deleterious effects on wound healing