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Chapter 9: Wound Care and Soft Tissue

Management

Introduction to Wound Care and Soft Tissue Management

Wound care and soft tissue management are fundamental aspects of orthopaedic practice,
playing a crucial role in patient recovery, infection prevention, and overall healing. Proper
wound management techniques ensure that post-surgical incisions, traumatic wounds, and
chronic soft tissue injuries heal efficiently while minimizing complications. Orthopaedic
technologists must be proficient in understanding the principles of wound healing, selecting
appropriate dressings, managing sutures and staples, and recognizing early signs of infection or
wound complications.

This chapter provides a comprehensive guide to the fundamentals of wound care, including
wound healing principles, dressing types and their applications, suture and staple
management, infection control strategies, and identifying and managing wound
complications. Mastering these concepts is essential for orthopaedic technologists to support
optimal patient outcomes and promote successful recovery.

Principles of Wound Healing

Wound healing is a complex biological process that involves multiple phases, each contributing
to the restoration of skin and soft tissue integrity. The success of wound healing depends on
several factors, including patient health, wound type, and appropriate medical intervention.

1. Phases of Wound Healing

• Hemostasis Phase (Immediate Response)
o Begins immediately after injury or surgery.
o Involves vasoconstriction, platelet aggregation, and clot formation to prevent excessive
bleeding.
o Platelets release growth factors that initiate the healing cascade.
• Inflammatory Phase (0-5 Days)
o Characterized by redness, swelling, and pain as white blood cells migrate to the wound
site.
o Macrophages and neutrophils remove bacteria, dead tissue, and debris.
o Cytokines stimulate tissue repair and initiate angiogenesis.
• Proliferative Phase (4-24 Days)
o Fibroblasts and keratinocytes promote granulation tissue formation.
o Collagen synthesis and epithelialization begin, restoring tissue structure.
o New capillaries form to provide oxygen and nutrients for cell growth.