Effect of mechanical load in wound healing.

This study was designed to investigate the effect of sequentially increasing mechanical load on healing incisions. Full-thickness incisions were made on the back of a young domestic pig. During the period of fibroplasia, one of the incisions was mechanically loaded with a subcutaneous tissue expander. Mechanical and histological evaluations of mechanically loaded and control incision areas indicated that the mechanical stress encouraged healing and remodeling of dermal tissue.