Surgical Wound Management

A 45-year-old woman with severe obesity presented for evaluation after having undergone abdominoplasty in the Dominican Republic approximately 8 weeks prior.

When wounds become chronic—ie, have not proceeded expediently through the four stages of healing and/or have languished for 3 months or more, usually “stuck” in the inflammatory or proliferative phase—a...

Chronic wounds are notorious for copious exudate production. Too much exudate can inhibit wound repair and cause periwound maceration because chronic wound fluid can break down extracellular matrix proteins...

Although many lacerations are treated in the emergency department, primary care clinicians still see their share of such wounds.

Caring for and closing wounds in certain areas involve additional risks and require special techniques. Wounds to the hands and feet—and anywhere on the head, including the scalp, face, and lips—can be...

Most wounds are still closed with some form of needle and thread. However, advances in technology have affected all areas of medicine, even the practice of basic wound closure.