Prospective, Single-Arm Clinical Evaluation of Placental Matrix for use with Canine Full-Thickness Meshed Autogenous Skin Grafts

The University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine is currently recruiting canines with full-thickness skin defects requiring autogenous skin grafting.

Enrollment Status: Currently Enrolling 

Inclusion Criteria: Dogs with full-thickness skin defects requiring autogenous (from the patient’s own body) skin grafting as part of their medically indicated treatment are eligible to participate. Dogs of any breed, age, sex, or body weight may be enrolled, provided they have a healthy granulation bed and no evidence of infection or necrotic tissue

Exclusion Criteria: Can not have  recently received immunosuppressive or cytotoxic medications. Pregnant or lactating dogs will be excluded.   

Treatment: As part of the standard grafting procedure, your dog will receive general anesthesia. During surgery, a full-thickness meshed skin graft will be harvested from a donor site on your dog and placed over the wound bed. As the research component of this procedure, a single application of placental matrix will be applied topically to the graft surface at the time of surgery. This application is non-invasive, painless, and performed while your dog is already under anesthesia. A non-adherent dressing and bandage will then be applied in a routine fashion. 

Following surgery, your dog will be monitored in hospital for 12-24 hours before discharge. The first recheck visit will occur approximately 5 days after the procedure, with subsequent visits every 3-7 days as determined by the attending veterinarian based on the graft site and any complications. Grafts are anticipated to be healed within 21-30 days on average. At each visit, a brief wound assessment and standardized photographs will be obtained to measure graft healing progress. 

Cost: No financial compensation is provided. The study does not cover costs of surgery, anesthesia, hospitalization, routine diagnostics, bandage changes, medications, or follow-up care. 

Contact: Please complete the Study Interest Form for more information;  Small Animal Hospital Phone: (352) 392-2235; Clinical Trials E-mail: vm-clinicalstudies@ufl.edu 

Investigators: 

Dr. Rachel Williams, DVM, (407) 748-3798, rwwilliams@ufl.edu  

Background: Full-thickness skin grafts are often required for dogs with large or complex wounds. Although these procedures are commonly performed, some grafts fail to fully attach or heal, leading to delayed recovery, additional surgeries, or discomfort for the patients. 

The study investigates whether a placental matrix – a biologic material rich in natural healing factors derived from bovine placental tissue – can improve graft success and reduce complications when applied at the time of skin grafting. Placental matrices contain growth factors and structural molecules that may enhance graft adherence, improve blood vessel formation and reduce inflammation within the graft bed.