Thoraco-abdominal wound in gunshot multiple wound

Thoracoabdominal wounding in the shot gun polytrauma was revealed in 56 (25.6%) of injured persons, severe shock of III-IV degree--in 71.4%. Operative intervention on the abdominal cavity organs was done in all injured persons, on the thoracic one--in 92.9%, and on the other anatomical regions--in 55.4%.     

Burn wound coverage and burn wound closure

Early excision and grafting changed dramatically topical wound treatment, but are restricted by difficulty in diagnosing burn depth, by limited donor sites and by technical skills to excise special areas (perineum, face). In addition to the extent of burn and the age of the patient the depth is determinant of mortality, morbidity and of patient's quality of life. It results from the time-temperature relation and is further influenced by local and systemic causes of conversion: dehydration, edema, infection and shock hypoxia, metabolic derangements, peripheral vessels diseases may contribute do deepening of burn wound. Superficial burn on day one appears deep dermal by day three, where spontaneous epithelization lasts much longer than 21 days and results in hypertrophic scarring. To prevent this sequelae deep dermal burn may be treated like full-thickness injury with excision and autografting. Another way is removal of dead layers of corium and using biological or synthetic cover. We have found a more effective way to reach wound closure (not only cover) in the method of "upside-down" application of recombined human/pig skin (RHPS), composed of allogeneic human keratinocytes cultured on cell-free pig dermis. The allogeneic epidermal cells temporarily "take", "close" the excised wound and simultaneously encourage epithelization from adnexa remnants in the wound bed. Thus definitive closure is achieved.     

Titanium wound chambers for wound healing research

Standardized and reproducible animal models are crucial in medical research. Rodents are commonly used in wound healing studies since, they are easily available, affordable and simple to handle and house. However, the most significant limitation of rodent models is that the wounds heal by contraction while in humans the primary mechanisms of healing are reepithelialization and granulation tissue formation. The robust contraction results in faster wound closure that complicates the reproducibility of rodent studies in clinical trials. We have developed a titanium wound chamber for rodent wound healing research. The chamber is engineered from two pieces of titanium and is placed transcutaneously on the dorsum of a rodent. The chamber inhibits wound contraction and provides a means for controlled monitoring and sampling of the wound environment in vivo with minimal foreign body reaction. This technical report introduces two modalities utilizing the titanium chambers in rats: (1) Wound in a skin island model and, (2) Wound without skin model. Here, we demonstrate in rats how the “wound in a skin island model” slows down wound contraction and how the “wound without skin” model completely prevents the closure. The titanium wound chamber provides a reproducible standardized models for wound healing research in rodents.     

Vacuum-assisted wound closure in postoperative spinal wound infection

Combined with antibiotic therapy, vacuum-assisted wound closure may help reduce the need for serial irrigation and debridement surgery, contributing to a decrease in overall hospital stay.     

The molecular biology in wound healing & non-healing wound

The development of molecular biology and other new biotechnologies helps us to recognize the wound healing and non-healing wound of skin in the past 30 years. This review mainly focuses on the molecular biology of many cytokines (including growth factors) and other molecular factors such as extracellular matrix (ECM) on wound healing. The molecular biology in cell movement such as epidermal cells in wound healing was also discussed. Moreover many common chronic wounds such as pressure ulcers, leg ulcers, diabetic foot wounds, venous stasis ulcers, etc. usually deteriorate into non-healing wounds. Therefore the molecular biology such as advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and other molecular factors in diabetes non-healing wounds were also reviewed.     

烧伤创面与糖尿病溃疡创面的比较

目的比较烧伤创面与糖尿病溃疡创面的差异，初步分析糖尿病患者溃疡创面难愈的机制。方法分别切取非糖尿病烧伤患者的足部创面（对照组）和糖尿病患者的足部溃疡创面（试验组）组织，行组织块培养。用酶联免疫吸附测定（ELISA）法、反转录-PCR法分别检测创面组织释放的成纤维细胞生长因子2（FGF2）、血管内皮生长因子（VEGF）蛋白质及其mRNA水平；免疫组织化学法检测创面微血管密度（MVD）的变化。人脐静脉内皮细胞分别在含5mmol／L葡萄糖的培养液（正常培养液组）、含30mmol／L葡萄糖的培养液（高糖组）、含30mmol／L甘露醇的培养液（甘露醇组）中培养7d，以ELISA法测定VEGF蛋白质水平。结果对照组患者FGF2、VEGF蛋白质水平分别为（59±3）ng／ml、（56±7）pg／ml，试验组2种蛋白质水平分别为（89±6）ng／ml、（108±5）pg／ml，组间比较差异均有统计学意义（P〈0．05或P〈0．01），mRNA比较结果与蛋白质相似；2组的MVD水平，差异亦有统计学意义（P〈0．05）。体外细胞培养时当培养液含FGF2，高糖组与正常培养液组的VEGF蛋白质水平相近（P〉0．05）；移去FGF2后2、5d，正常培养液组该指标明显高于高糖组（P〈0．05或P〈0．01）。结论糖尿病患者溃疡创面难愈与血管化受到抑制以及调控血管生长的因子低表达密切相关。     

New techniques in wound management: vacuum-assisted wound closure

Vacuum-assisted wound closure (VAC) is a wound management technique that exposes the wound bed to negative pressure by way of a closed system. Edema fluid is removed from the extravascular space, thus eliminating an extrinsic cause of microcirculatory embarrassment and improving blood supply during this phase of inflammation. In addition, the mechanical tension from the vacuum may directly stimulate cellular proliferation of reparative granulation tissue. Orthopaedic indications for VAC include traumatic wounds after débridement, infection after débridement, and fasciotomy wounds for compartment syndrome. VAC also can be used as a dressing for anchoring an applied split-thickness skin graft. The technique is contraindicated in patients with thin, easily bruised or abraded skin; those with neoplasm as part of the wound floor; and those with allergic reactions to any of the components that contact the skin. Clinical experience with the technique has resulted in a low incidence of minor, reversible irritation to surrounding skin and no major complications. Further experience is required, as well as clinical and basic research, to define optimal indications and benefits compared with traditional methods of wound management.     

Acute wound healing: the biology of acute wound failure

Acute wound healing failure is an important source of morbidity and mortality for surgical patients. Many incisional hernias, gastrointestinal anastomotic leaks, and vascular pseudoaneurysms occur despite patient optimization and standardized surgical technique. Modern surgical experience suggests that biologic and mechanical pathways overlap during "normal" acute wound healing. The cellular and molecular processes activated to repair tissue from the moment of injury are under the control of biologic and mechanical signals. Successful acute wound healing occurs when a dynamic balance is met between the loads placed across a provisional matrix and the feedback and feed-forward responses of repair cells.     

Outcomes of conventional wound treatment in a comprehensive wound center

Conventional wound care is the elementary treatment modality for treating chronic wounds. However, early treatment with topical growth factors may be needed for a subset of chronic wounds that fail to heal with good wound care alone. A prospective nonrandomized case series from a single-community outpatient wound care clinic is presented here in an effort to identify the subset of chronic wounds that may require early adjuvant intervention. There were 378 consecutive patients with 774 chronic wounds of varying etiology. All patients received 4 weeks of conventional wound care, including weekly debridement and twice-daily dressing changes. Wounds not reduced by 50 per cent volume at 4 weeks were nonrandomly treated with human skin equivalent (Apligraf), platelet-derived wound healing factor, or platelet-derived growth factor isoform BB (becaplermin gel, Regranex). A total of 601 of 774 (78%) wounds healed regardless of treatment type. The median time to heal for all wounds was 49 days (interquartile range = 26-93). More women than men healed (85% vs 71%, respectively, P < 0.0001). Diabetic wounds were as likely to heal as nondiabetic wounds (78% vs 80%, P = 0.5675). Wounds that did not heal had larger volumes and higher grade compared with wounds that healed (P < 0.0001 for both variables). The data presented here show that the majority of chronic wounds will heal with conventional wound care, regardless of etiology. Large wounds with higher grades are less responsive to conventional wound care and will benefit from topical growth factor treatment early in the treatment course.     

Surgical wound case studies with the versatile 1 wound vacuum system for negative pressure wound therapy.

Negative pressure wound therapy consists of a wound dressing, a drainage tube inserted into the dressing, an occlusive transparent film, and a connection to a vacuum source that supplies the negative pressure. A new product called the Versatile 1 Wound Vacuum System (BlueSky Medical, La Costa, Calif) is available for negative pressure wound therapy. This article describes the application, management, and effectiveness of the Versatile 1 in 3 cases where the patients have all undergone surgical debridement.     

Economic comparison of methods of wound closure: wound closure strips vs. sutures and wound adhesives

Our objective was to review and assess the treatment of low-tension wounds and evaluate the cost-effectiveness of wound closure methods. We used a health economic model to estimate cost/closure of adhesive wound closure strips, tissue adhesives and sutures. The model incorporated cost-driving variables: application time, costs and the likelihood and costs of dehiscence and infection. The model was populated with variable estimates derived from the literature. Cost estimates and cosmetic results were compared. Parameter values were estimated using national healthcare and labour statistics. Sensitivity analyses were used to verify the results. Our analysis suggests that adhesive wound closure strips had the lowest average cost per laceration ($7.54), the lowest cost per infected laceration ($53.40) and the lowest cost per laceration with dehiscence ($25.40). The costs for sutures were $24.11, $69.91 and $41.91, respectively; the costs for tissue adhesives were $28.77, $74.68 and $46.68, respectively. The cosmetic outcome for all three treatments was equivalent. We conclude adhesive wound closure strips were both a cost-saving and a cost-effective alternative to sutures and tissue adhesives in the closure of low-tension lacerations.