Treatment Plan & Prognosis
Treatment Plan
Low-risk wounds:
- Clean, close and dress
- Closure methods: glue, steri-strips, staples, sutures
- Local anaesthetic if >5cm
Removal timings:
- Head/neck: 5-7 days (non-absorbable sutures/staples)
- Trunk/extremities: 10-14 days (non-absorbable sutures/staples)
- Glue/steri-strips: fall off 5-7 days
- Absorbable sutures: dissolve 7-14 days
High-risk/infected wounds:
- Clean and dress initially
- Delay closure 2-5 days post-infection resolution
- Consider antibiotics
- Tetanus prophylaxis, if indicated
- Simple analgesia
- Keep wounds clean and dry
ED referral criteria:
- Systemic infection/sepsis
- Facial wounds (near eyes, nose, ears, lips)
- Associated cellulitis
- Vascular/tendon/nerve/bone damage
- Significantly contaminated wounds
- Foreign bodies requiring removal
Prognosis
Varying based on wound characteristics and management