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This stage is followed by the inflammatory phase which typically lasts 1 to 3 days. Proliferation is the third stage of wound healing and lasts from a few days up to a month. The fourth and final phase of wound healing, remodeling/scar formation, typically lasts 12 months but can continue as long as 2 years after the initial injury.
The wound usually appears red and can be accompanied by drainage. Clinicians delay re-opening the wound unless it is necessary due to the potential of other complications. If the surgical wound worsens, or if a rupture of the digestive system is suspected the decision may be to investigate the source of the drainage or infection. [2] [3]
A week after the injury, the edges of the wound are pulled together by contraction. Contraction is an important part of the healing process when damage has been extensive, and involves shrinking in size of underlying contractile connective tissue, which brings the wound margins toward one another. [1]
Timing is important to wound healing. Critically, the timing of wound re-epithelialization can decide the outcome of the healing. [11] If the epithelization of tissue over a denuded area is slow, a scar will form over many weeks, or months; [12] [13] If the epithelization of a wounded area is fast, the healing will result in regeneration.
Throughout the four phases of wound healing, collagen performs the following functions: Guiding: collagen fibers guide fibroblasts because they migrate along a connective tissue matrix. Chemotaxis: collagen fibers have a large surface area which attracts fibrogenic cells which help healing.
During the maturation phase of wound healing, unnecessary vessels formed in granulation tissue are removed by apoptosis, and type III collagen is largely replaced by type I. Collagen which was originally disorganized is cross-linked and aligned along tension lines. This phase can last a year or longer.
Wound assessment is a vital first step in the precision management process. The purpose of wound assessment is: To identify: the origin of the wound, the effects of the wound on the individual, the effects of the individual on the wound. To determine: if healing is taking place, the most appropriate management of the wound. To gather data:
Wound bed, wound edge and periwound skin should be examined before the initial treatment plan is devised. It should also be re-assessed at each visit or each dressing change. For wound bed, the following parameters are assessed: Tissue type; presence and percentage of non-viable tissue covering the wound bed; Level of exudate; Presence of infection