Why is wound closure important?
The ability to close a skin wound is an important skill learned by medical care providers. Whether the skin injury was made by a scalpel in the operating room or by a fall in the street, the decision as to how and when to repair the damage needs to be individualized for each patient and situation. The skin has many layers from the epidermis on the outside to the subcutaneous tissue and the dermis in between. Each of these layers has other sub-layers that help the skin perform its functions. The skin provides a barrier to the outside world and the dangers of infection, environmental hazards and chemicals, and temperature. It contains melanocytes that can darken or tan the skin while protecting from ultraviolet radiation and it also plays an important role in temperature regulation.
Related Questions
- Should vacuum-assisted closure therapy be routinely used for management of deep sternal wound infection after cardiac surgery?
- Is it being used instead of wound closure, i.e. steri-strips, or just instead of band-aids?
- Can the usage of cellular therapies achieve complete wound closure in venous ulcers?
