CC BY-NC 4.0 · Arch Plast Surg 2014; 41(04): 317-324
DOI: 10.5999/aps.2014.41.4.317
Original Article

Creation of Consistent Burn Wounds: A Rat Model

Elijah Zhengyang Cai
Department of Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore
,
Chuan Han Ang
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
,
Ashvin Raju
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
,
Kong Bing Tan
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
Department of Pathology, National University Health System, Singapore
,
Eileen Chor Hoong Hing
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore
,
Yihua Loo
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Agency of Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
,
Yong Chiat Wong
Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore
,
Hanjing Lee
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore
,
Jane Lim
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore
,
Shabbir M Moochhala
Defence Medical and Environmental Research Institute, DSO National Laboratories, Singapore
,
Charlotte AE Hauser
Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Agency of Science, Technology and Research, Singapore
,
Thiam Chye Lim
Department of Surgery, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Natioanl University of Singapore, Singapore
Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Department of Surgery, National University Health System, Singapore
› Author Affiliations
This work is supported by the Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (Biomedical Research Council, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore) and the Defense Science Organisation, Singapore. This work is funded by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (Singapore) internal grant.

Background Burn infliction techniques are poorly described in rat models. An accurate study can only be achieved with wounds that are uniform in size and depth. We describe a simple reproducible method for creating consistent burn wounds in rats.

Methods Ten male Sprague-Dawley rats were anesthetized and dorsum shaved. A 100 g cylindrical stainless-steel rod (1 cm diameter) was heated to 100℃ in boiling water. Temperature was monitored using a thermocouple. We performed two consecutive toe-pinch tests on different limbs to assess the depth of sedation. Burn infliction was limited to the loin. The skin was pulled upwards, away from the underlying viscera, creating a flat surface. The rod rested on its own weight for 5, 10, and 20 seconds at three different sites on each rat. Wounds were evaluated for size, morphology and depth.

Results Average wound size was 0.9957 cm2 (standard deviation [SD] 0.1845) (n=30). Wounds created with duration of 5 seconds were pale, with an indistinct margin of erythema. Wounds of 10 and 20 seconds were well-defined, uniformly brown with a rim of erythema. Average depths of tissue damage were 1.30 mm (SD 0.424), 2.35 mm (SD 0.071), and 2.60 mm (SD 0.283) for duration of 5, 10, 20 seconds respectively. Burn duration of 5 seconds resulted in full-thickness damage. Burn duration of 10 seconds and 20 seconds resulted in full-thickness damage, involving subjacent skeletal muscle.

Conclusions This is a simple reproducible method for creating burn wounds consistent in size and depth in a rat burn model.

This work was presented in the form of a poster presentation at the Malaysia Association of Plastic, Aesthetic and Craniomaxillofacial Surgeons' Annual Scientific Meeting on April 26-28, 2013 in Ipoh, Malaysia.




Publication History

Received: 01 June 2014

Accepted: 08 July 2014

Article published online:
05 May 2022

© 2014. The Korean Society of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, permitting unrestricted noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

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