Topic: Wound Healing and Plastic Surgery

In this Special Issue a broad spectrum of topics related to wound healing shows the diversity of our specialty and highly renowned authors contribute based on their experience with special problems of wound healing from different angles.
Microsurgical free flaps together with bypass grafts or arteriovenous loops are discussed for they are extremely difficult to treat wounds as a last resort in specialized centers. Although the era of microsurgery has broadened our spectrum tremendously, it is not the one and only solution for every indication. Therefore, one article reflects on pedicled flaps in the rare event when free flaps may not be the first choice for various reasons. Techniques to optimize results by remote ischemic tissue conditioning to reduce ischemia-reperfusion injury, as well as the worth of interdisciplinary approaches to cure extended sternoclavicular joint infections in cirrhotic patients are important topics. The value of negative pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi) in pressure ulcers is described as well as the state of the art in enzymatic debridement in burn patients. The specific problems of wound healing in postbariatric body contouring surgery are pointed out and the role of adipose derived stem cells in cutaneous wound repair is highlighted as well as the prefabrication of flaps and aspects of neoangiogenesis which is initiated via venous grafts in arteriovenous loops.

Plastic Surgery, wound Healing, arteriovenous loops, free flaps, peroneus brevis flaps, remote ischemic tissue preconditioning, postbariatric body contouring surgery, neoangiogenesis, enzymatic debridement, adipose-derived stem cells, negative pressure wound therapy with instillation (NPWTi), flap prefabrication

9 Jul 2018