What is a non-healing surgical wound?
Non-healing surgical and burn wounds treatment, Texas occurs after surgery. It occurs when a wound caused by an incision during a surgical procedure doesn’t heal. Non-healing surgical wounds can be as a result of an infection, serious complication, health condition, and other factors.
Causes of non-healing surgical wound
- Causes of non-healing surgical wound include:
- Infection at the surgical site
- Severe complications
- Underlying health condition
- Weak immune system
- Bacteria on the skin or other parts of the body
Factors that increase the risk of non-healing surgical wounds include:
- Smoking
- Excessive intake of alcohol
- Poor nutrition
- Aging
- Overweight
- Abdominal or intestinal surgeries
- Surgeries that last for over 2 years
Symptoms of non-healing surgical wounds
The symptoms of non-healing surgical wounds depend on the location and type of surgery.
Common signs and symptoms of non-healing surgical wounds include:
- Pus or drainage at the wound site
- Bad smell
- Increased pain
- Redness at the wound site
- Feeling of hotness at the wound site
- Dried out appearance of the wound
- Fever
Treatment of Non-healing surgical wound
Treatments of Non-healing surgical and burn wounds treatment, Texas include:
- Cleaning the affected skin area
- Gently spraying the wound with water
- Removing the dead tissues from the surface of the wound
- Inspecting the wound and dressing the wound
- Applying medication to the wound to prevent infection
- Draining fluids or blood from the wound
- Engaging in physical therapies and rehabilitation
- Skin or tissue grafting to cover up the wound
- Hyperbaric oxygen therapy to increase the amount of oxygen in the tissue to facilitate healing.
What is burn wound?
An injury to the flesh or severe skin damage that may cause the affected skin cells to die is known as burn. Burns are caused by heat, excess sun exposure, electricity, chemicals, hot water, radiation, and hot substances. The severity or degree of a burn depends on how wide and deep it affects the underlying skin layers. The different degrees of burns include first-degree, second-degree, and third-degree burns.
Symptoms
The symptoms of burns depend on the severity and how deep the skin is damaged.
- The symptom of first-degree burn is minor burn that affects only the outer layer (epidermis) of the skin. First-degree burn could cause redness of the skin and mild pain.
- Symptom of second-degree burn is a burn that affects both the first layer (epidermis) and the second layer (dermis). Second-degree burn could cause swelling, redness, white or splotchy skin, blisters, severe pain, or scarring.
- Symptom of third-degree burn is a burn that affects the fat layer beneath the skin. The burnt areas may be black, brown, or white. Third-degree burns can destroy nerves and cause numbness.
Treatments of burn wounds
There are different treatment options for burns depending on the severity of the burn.
Minor or first-degree burns can be easily treated at home using home remedies such as applying burn creams and ointments, taking medications to prevent infections and relieve pain.
Second and third-degree burns require medical attention from specialized burn experts and clinics like Southwest regional wound care center.
Medical treatments for burns include:
Taking fluids to prevent dehydration
Taking intravenous (IV) fluids can help to prevent dehydration and organ failure.
Water-based treatments
Ultrasound mist therapy is a water-based treatment to clean and stimulate wound tissue.
Dressing the wound
Dressing the wound by cleaning and bandaging the wound can aid healing. Dressing the wound also prevent bacteria from infecting the wound.
Taking pain and anxiety medications
Pain medications such as morphine and ibuprofen can help relieve pain.
Anti-biotic
Taking anti-biotic medications helps to prevent bacteria infection.
Tetanus shot
Tetanus shot may be recommended to prevent tetanus from entering into the wound.
Physical and occupation therapy
Physical exercises that can help stretch the skin and help to keep the joint flexible are recommended. Engage in exercises that also help to strengthen your muscles and enhance coordination.
Surgery
Your doctor may recommend surgery if your condition is very severe. The location of the burn determines the type of surgery that will be done.
If the burn occurs on your face or neck, your throat may swell and shut. In this situation, your doctor will insert a tube into your windpipe to supply oxygen to your lungs.
If there is extensive severe skin burn, skin graft may be recommended to replace the dead skin tissue caused by the burn.
Plastic surgery may also be required to remove the burn scars and improve the appearance of your skin.