Use of a tilapia skin xenograft for management of a large bite wound in a dog.

A 13-year-old neutered male miniature dachshund suffered ~30% total skin loss following an attack by another dog. After numerous failed attempts at wound management and closure, the wound was successfully healed by epithelialization using tilapia skin grafts. At each tilapia skin graft placement, the wound bed appeared pink, clean, and healthy with excellent progression of epithelialization at all edges. With use of the tilapia grafts, epithelialization occurred at a rate of 1.76 mm/day. As a result, the wound reached complete closure by epithelialization with no evidence of wound contracture in 102 days. Key clinical message: Tilapia skin grafts were successfully used for management of a large bite wound in a dog and may promote accelerated epithelialization in full thickness skin wounds. Copyright and/or publishing rights held by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association.