Phototherapy Hastens the Umbilical Cord Stump Fall Off in Calves

The present work evaluated the effects of LED light therapy at 640 nm on healing the navels of newborns by using animal model. Fifty-seven neonatal calves were divided into two study groups. The members of the control group had the umbilical stump immersed in a solution of 10% tincture of iodine for 60 s, which was repeated every 24 h for three consecutive days. The members of the treated group received light doses of 7.2 J that were applied to four points evenly distributed around the insertion site of umbilical stump every 24 h for three consecutive days before the umbilical stumps were immersed in the iodine solution. The time, in days from birth, at which the umbilical stump fell off for each calf was noted. After the umbilical stump fell off, the remnant wound area was measured at different times after birth. Digital photographs with a dimensional reference were used for area measurements. The results showed that phototherapy hastened the fall-off of the umbilical stump, accelerated navel healing and reduced the mortality rate in newborn calves. We can anticipate that light treatment, as an afterbirth care, could also bring benefits to human neonates.