Observational study of the effect of L-Mesitran® medical honey on wound healing in cats

The aim of the study was to prove the healing effect of medical honey on contaminated nonsurgical wounds in cats. Ten cats with a total of fifteen contaminated nonsurgical wounds were included in the study. The wounds were treated with L-Mesitran[R] Soft medical honey wound gel and left to heal by second intention. All wounds smaller than 10 [cm.sup.2] healed in 7 to 56 days (mean 30.8 [+ or -] 16.0 days), wounds larger than 10 [cm.sup.2] healed in 28 to 105 days (mean 64.4 [+ or -] 31.12 days). Wounds with skin and subcutis involvement (Type 1) healed in 14 to 49 days (mean 29.17 [+ or -] 10.48 days), wounds where skin, subcutis and muscles, tendon and/or bones were involved (Type 2) healed in 7 to 105 days (mean 50.6 [+ or -] 30.74 days). The scab and necrotic tissue gradually cleared from all wounds. Odour and exudate in all wounds vanished by day 7, while pH lowered from 7.6 to 7.0 in 3 days. The mean time of the first appearance of granulation tissue in wounds Type 1 was 3.66 [+ or -] 1.63 days and for wounds Type 2 5.25 [+ or -] 2.55 days. The mean time to coverage of the bottom of the wound with granulation tissue was 3 to 18 days (mean 9.73 [+ or -] 5.11) days. Using the Mann-Whitney test, no statistically significant differences were found in healing of wounds between groups according to wound size and between groups according to the tissues involved on any of selected days (P