Results of a clinical study showed that distal limb wounds treated with a dressing containing esterified hyaluronic acid (hyaluronan) showed no improvement in healing as compared to untreated wounds.

To evaluate the effect of an esterified hyaluronan bandage on wound healing, Stefan Witte, DVM, of the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, and colleagues compared the healing of full-thickness wounds on the cannon bones of six horses. One limb was dressed with a bandage impregnated with the esterified hyaluronan, while they treated the opposite limb with only a nonadherent dressing to serve as the control.

“There was no difference in wound healing, epithelialization, or wound contraction between the treatment and control limbs after five weeks, suggesting that the esterified hyaluronan used in this study does not have a beneficial effect on wound healing,” explained Witte. “Significant differences on a microscopic and molecular level were also not detected.”

The study does show, however, that the product is safe to use on the equine lower limb