Comparison of the effects of moist and dry conditions on the process of angiogenesis during dermal repair.

The effect of moist and dry conditions on the process of angiogenesis during dermal repair was investigated. The moist conditions were achieved by covering excised wounds on porcine flank skin with the adhesive polyurethane dressing Opsite and dry conditions were achieved by exposure to air through dry gauze dressings. Angiogenesis was assessed during the period from 3 to 60 d after injury. Quantitative studies, using computerized image analysis, were carried out on microfocal x-ray images of skin sections whose blood system had been perfused in vivo with a radio-opaque medium. The analytical technique yielded information with regard to vessel number per wound and also the area occupied by blood vessels per unit wound area. Three regions were assessed in each wound bed: upper zone, just below the surface of the wound; the lower zone, just above the base of the wound bed; and the middle zone, midway between the other two zones. The results showed that the wounds maintained in a moist environment revascularized at a greater rate than those maintained in a dry environment. This was apparent in all of the zones of the wound bed examined. The development of new vessels occurred in a more orderly manner in the moist wounds. There was an early increase in vessel number rising to a peak around days 3-5, then a gradual decrease in number starting around day 7. In contrast, in the dry wounds the development of blood vessels was less rapid. Peak vessel number in the upper zone was significantly less than that achieved in the moist wounds, and was not reached until 7 d after injury. The decrease in vessel number from the peak was less rapid in the dry wounds, suggesting that there was a delayed entry into the remodeling phase in comparison with the moist wounds. The results also showed that the total percentage area of the wound bed occupied by blood vessels was greater in the moist wounds than the dry wounds from 3 d after injury until day 7. This level of vascularization was maintained beyond 7 d after injury even when the vessel number in the moist wounds was significantly less than in the dry wounds, suggesting that the vessels in the moist wounds were larger and, presumably, more mature. In general, moist wounds showed a more rapid decline towards uninjured skin levels of vascularization than dry wounds.