Common complications of wound healing. Prevention and management.

The culmination of any operation is a healed wound. Failure of a wound to heal increases time spent in the hospital and the expense, and may start a cascade of progressive complications. Thus, it is important to optimize as many factors as possible before operation and to have the knowledge and resources to deal with wound problems should they occur. This approach involves understanding basic wound healing with its multiple factors, including nutrition, and knowing how to deal with potential adverse factors in wound healing, such as chemotherapy, corticosteroids, and radiation.