Wound Healing (primary & secondary)
Written by Rhiana Devadasan
32) Primary and secondary wound healing. Suture of wounds. Types. Scars.
Wound healing = the body's natural process of restoring normal structure & function after injury, involving a complex series of events that begins at the moment of injury & can continue for months to years (aka Wound Repair).
There are 2 types of wound healing processes...
HEALING BY PRIMARY INTENTION (ideal type of healing)
Primary wound healing = healing of a clean, aseptic wound without tissue loss.
Indications/when to perform healing by primary intention:
- Both damaged edges of the wound are in direct contact with each other or can be brought together via sutures, stapes or wound sealant (i.e. little gap to bridge).
- Must assess that the wound is clean (i.e. no foreign bodies, no infection, no necrotic tissue, no risk of infection)
PROCESS:
- Assessment of the wound to check it is clean (i.e. no foreign bodies, no infection, no necrotic tissue, no risk of infection)
- We then approximate the 2 cut edges (bring them together) via sutures, staples or wound sealant, to allow the edges to heal directly into each other.
ADVANTAGES OF 1° HEALING:
- Smallest scar (therefore better functional & cosmetic result)
- Quickest method of healing (sutures can be taken out after around 10 days)
- Causes the least inflammation