OBJECTIVE Soft tissue injuries with full-thickness skin involvement not amenable to local flaps may be treated with dermal matrices and subsequent skin grafting. METHODS A pediatric patient presented with a 50-cm(2) scalp avulsion down to periosteum and outer cranial table post-vehicular trauma. After cultivating healthy cranial neodermis with Integra Bilayer Matrix Wound Dressing, a novel mo...

Low-energy shotgun fractures involving the arm are complex injuries. Previously published reports have emphasized various problems associated with these injuries. This case report describes a low-energy shotgun wound managed by a staged treatment protocol involving: (1) a spanning external fixator and immediate soft tissue management, followed by (2) osteosynthesis and autogenous bone grafting ...

Garfish, which are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean areas, have a long, spear-like beak with two marrow jaws and small pointed teeth. They often make sudden leaps while swimming, particularly when attracted by bright lights. In Papua New Guinea people often fish from canoes using a light at night, and serious injuries may be caused by a fish jumping and its beak piercing part of the body. The su...

Sepsis remains the major cause of death in patients with major burn injuries. In the present investigation we evaluated the interaction between burn injuries of varying severity and preexisting distant infection. We used Gram-negative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Proteus mirabilis) that were genetically engineered to be bioluminescent, which allowed for noninvasive, sequential optical i...

Open tibia fractures are common injuries, particularly in developing countries.Pedestrian or bicycle to motor car contact is the most common mechanism. These injuries result in high morbidity and often long-term disability. HIV infection complicates open fractures by raising the incidence of infectionin the open wound (5 of 7 patients in our series). This risk may be compounded if internal fixa...

BACKGROUND Wound healing is widely discussed in the medical literature. This study compared the healing effect of aloe vera extract and silver sulfadiazine in burn injuries in experimental rat model. METHODS Sixteen rats were randomly assigned to one of two groups, each group 8 rats. A deep second-degree burn on the lower back and 3(rd) degree burn on upper back of each rat were created with ...

Background. We compared the efficacy of P. granatum (P) flower extract with that of silver sulfadiazine (SSD) for treating thermal burn injuries in rats. Methods. Ten Wistar rats in each group were topically given base cream, normal saline, cream containing 1% SSD, or creams containing 5% or 10% Punica granatum flower extract. The treatments were administered once daily until complete wound hea...

Corneal wound healing is a complex process that occurs in response to various injuries and commonly used refractive surgery. It is a significant clinical problem, which may lead to serious complications due to either incomplete (epithelial) or excessive (stromal) healing. Epithelial stem cells clearly play a role in this process, whereas the contribution of stromal and endothelial progenitors i...

The treatment of trauma to the heart has been written about since 3000 BC and had an inauspicious beginning. Until the late 19th century, the commonly held belief agreed with Boerhaave’s sentiments that, “all penetrating cardiac trauma is fatal.” Theodore Billroth warned, “The surgeon who should attempt to suture a wound of the heart would lose the respect of his colleagues.” Paget believed tha...

I N general, traumatic wound therapy in civilians foIIows military practice. After WorId War II it was inevitabIe that the war time management of abdominal wounds should carry over into the peace time emergency rooms and operating theaters. The miIitary practice of routineIy performing earIy expIoration was based on the almost uniformly fatal outcome of non-operative treatment of patients with ...