Tail and Perineal Wounds

Bilateral rotation flaps for the closure of a wound at the tail base of a cat

“…full thickness skin grafts have been used in covering limb defects in cats with very favorable results and could be considered for coverage tail base wounds (Shahar et al, 1999, Bellah, 2006. This technique requires long term hospitalization and bandaging, its proximity with the anus increases the likelihood of graft contamination and the cosmetic appearance of the graft is not as good as that of the flap and thus offered no advantage over the technique described in the present study.…”

“…The caudal superficial epigastric flap may be considered to cover tail base wound in cats; creation of a long epigastric flap with less distance needed to cover the tail base wound would be an option in our case (Remedios et al, 1989, Bellah, 2006. However, the extensive dissection of the donor side and the difference in cosmetic appearance of the recipient versus donor sides made this technique less desirable to close the wound in our case (Nelissen and White, 2014).…”

“…Healing by second intention may be an option for bite wounds in cats. In this particular case the size and location of the wound that made long-term bandaging and frequent bandage changes problematic, the high cost of the bandaging material, the poor cosmetic appearance of the healed wound and the slower wound healing that is described in cats in contrast to dogs made this option less appealing (Bohling et al, 2004, Bellah, 2006.…”

“…Options available for surgical reconstruction of large tail base wounds in cats include application of subdermal plexus flaps, axial pattern flaps or meshed grafts (Pope and Swaim, 1986, Bellah, 2006, Anderson and Langley-Hobbs, 2014. Only one case of a cat with a tail base wound treated with a bilateral rotation flap has been briefly reported in the literature (Pope and Swaim, 1986).…”

“…insufficient loose skin present in this particular region (Bellah, 2006). Options available for surgical reconstruction of large tail base wounds in cats include application of subdermal plexus flaps, axial pattern flaps or meshed grafts (Pope and Swaim, 1986, Bellah, 2006, Anderson and Langley-Hobbs, 2014.…”