Laser therapy is becoming common place in veterinary medicine with little evidence proving efficacy or dosages. This study evaluated
surgical wound healing in canines. Twelve Dachshunds underwent thoraco-lumbar hemilaminectomies for
intervertebral disc disease (IVDD). Digital photographs were taken of their incisions within 24 h of surgery and 1, 3, 5, 7, and 21 days postoperatively. The first three dogs were used to create a standardized
scar scale to score the other dogs' incision healing. The remaining 9 dogs were randomly assigned to either receive 8 J/cm2
laser therapy once a day for 7 days or the non-
laser treated control group. Incision healing was scored based on the
scar scale from 0 to 5, with zero being a fresh incision and five being completely healed with
scar contraction and hair growth. All
scar scores significantly improved with increasing time from surgery (<0.001). Good agreement was achieved for inter-rater reliability (p = 0.9).
Laser therapy increased the
scar scale score, showed improved cosmetic healing, by day seven and continued to be significantly increased on day 21 compared to control dogs (p < 0.001). Daily application of
laser therapy at 8J/cm2 hastened wound healing in Dachshunds that received thoracolumbar hemilaminectomies for IVDD. It also improved the cosmetic appearance.