A Rodent Model of Hypertrophic Scarring: Splinting of Rat Wounds

Human hypertrophic scars are the result of imperfect healing of skin, which is particularly evident from the scars developing after severe burns. In contrast, mouse and rat full-thickness skin wounds heal normally without forming visible scar tissue, which reduces the suitability of rodent models for the study of skin scarring. We here provide a simple procedure to splint the edges of full-thickness rodent skin with a sutured plastic frame that prevents wound closure by granulation tissue contraction. The resulting mechanical tension in the wound bed and the lack of neo-epithelium amplify myofibroblast formation and generate hypertrophic features, not unlike those of human skin. In addition to producing scar tissue, the splint provides a reservoir that can be used for the delivery of cellular and acellular wound treatment regimen. Despite being simple and almost historical, wound splinting is a robust and reliable model to study myofibroblast biology.