Open Wound Requiring Reconstruction

Abstract

November 2006

Section 3 Breast, Skin, and Soft Tissue

3 Open Wound Requiring Reconstruction

Josep J. Disa, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Associate Professor of Surgery, Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Associate Attending Surgeon, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

Eric G. Halvorson, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of North Carolina School of Medicine

David A. Hidalgo, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Clinical Professor of Surgery, Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University, and Associate Attending Surgeon, Manhattan Eye, Ear, and Throat Hospital

Problem wounds are characterized by one of the following: large size that precludes direct primary closure, gross infection or uncertain bacteriologic status, or threatened loss of critical structures exposed as a result of insufficient soft tissue coverage. Surgically created wounds, which generally pose less of a problem from a bacteriologic standpoint than traumatic wounds, are best managed by an immediate coverage procedure when direct closure is impossible. This chapter discusses acute and secondary reconstruction, wound healing, and postoperative management issues. This chapter contains 33 references.

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