Todayโs path rounds are on ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ก!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐ก is a form of ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ง๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐, which is the initial tissue that fills in a wound during healing. With proud flesh, the granulation tissue is considered ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐ญ, with too much tissue being formed.
๐๐ก๐จ ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
We most commonly see this in horses!
๐๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ?
Proud flesh is most commonly seen on the limbs of horses. The exact reason for this is unknown, however it is likely related to the poor blood flow to these areas, combined with being constantly in motion and having minimal โsoft tissueโ like skin, muscle and fat. These combined factors lead to increased production of granulation tissue, to the point where there is far more tissue than actually needed to fill in the wound.
๐๐ก๐ฒ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐๐ฆ?
The main problem with proud flesh is that it prevents proper healing of the skin. When there is a wound, two free edges of skin are formed. As the skin heals, one skin edge wants to try and grow towards the other edge, in order to close off the defect. With proud flesh, there is a big mass of tissue that prevents the skin edges from ever meeting! Thus, the wound can never truly heal.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ข๐๐ ๐ง๐จ๐ฌ๐๐?
Proud flesh is so common in horses that usually veterinarians are able to diagnose it just based on the appearance. However, there are some other conditions that can look similar to proud flesh. In cases where typical proud flesh treatment is unsuccessful, submitting a biopsy to a pathologist is helpful to rule out any other diagnoses, like tumours.
๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ข๐ญ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐๐?
The main goal of proud flesh treatment is to allow the skin edges to come together. This typically involves ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ข๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ of the proud flesh, or cutting off the excess tissue. Thankfully, this relatively immature tissue doesnโt have any nerve endings yet, so this process is not painful for the horse! However, this tissue does have a ๐ฅ๐จ๐ญ of blood vessels, so they can bleed excessively during this process. In general, this is more disturbing to the owners than it is to the horse!
๐๐ก๐จ๐ญ๐จ๐ฌ
1-5) Examples of proud flesh on the limbs of horses!
๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ
Maxie, G. Jubb, Kennedy and Palmerโs Pathology of Domestic Animals, Volume 1. Sixth Edition.
Photos 1-5 ยฉ Noahโs Arkive contributors Niyo, Harrington, Wallace, Dodd, Howard licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
