Comparison of experimentally-induced wounds in rabbits treated with different sources of platelet-rich plasma

Abstract

Over the years, autologous platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has been used to great advantage in the healing of acute and chronic wounds. However, it is impossible to use in some situations so alternative PRPs need to be considered, such as homologous or heterologous PRPs. In order to evaluate the effects of PRP in the form of autologous, heterologous and homologous gels on in vivo cutaneous wound healing, 18 animals divided into three groups of six, were used for the study, with another six animals used as PRP donors. For the heterologous group an adult, mixed breed dog was used to obtain the PRP. The wounds were induced using an 8 mm punch. The left side was treated with NaCl 0.9%® (A) and a PRP gel was applied (GA = autologous; GHE = heterologous and GHO = homologous) on the right side (B). The wounds were evaluated for a period of 17 days. On the 17th day biopsies were taken for histopathological assessment of the wounds. The percentage of contraction was evident in side B (treated), which was confirmed in the microscopic analysis of the histological sections. Thus, it was concluded that PRP, regardless of the source, improves and accelerates the healing process, demonstrating its therapeutic potential on cutaneous lesions and its use in patients with impaired wound healing.