Current Methods for Improving Wound Healing,
Abstract
Surgeons have never expected the maximum which wounds can produce. The question of acceleration is semantically confusing. Since almost the beginning of recorded surgical history, the prevailing view of wound healing has been one of an immutable process, prescribed by God and only made possible by surgeons. Yet, the expectations of each generation of surgeons have realistically increased. If we accept as the baseline of that immutable process the expectations that Pare had for wound healing, we must agree that surgeons have gained considerable control over would healing and are routinely able to accelerate it. Early debridement, early coverage, nutritional management, and physiologic support have not just circumvented the limitations of healing - they actually accelerate healing. It is now time to develop sophisticated means of ensuring burn wound perfusion and oxygenation, and it is time to investigate wound-stimulating substances, of which epidermal growth stimulators are the closest to clinical use. A savings of even ten percent of hospital time for burn patients would be a significant victory and would be worth considerable expense and effort to attain. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 21, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADP004428
Entities
People
- T. K. Hunt
Organizations
- University of California, San Francisco