Wound healing is a complex cascade of biologic processes. Repair
initiates with injury and ends with restoration of tissue integrity. The
fi nal result of the repair process is fi brosis and scar in all organ systems
except:
● bone;
● specialized conditions of liver;
● muscle fi ber injury.
Because surgery induces tissue injury, a thorough understanding of the
wound repair process is fundamental to the practice of plastic surgery.
Now armed with a more detailed understanding of the repair processes
and their regulation, investigators have modulated experimental
wounds to heal faster than normal. In addition, the healing impairment
that occurs in several pathologic states such as diabetes mellitus
and corticosteroid immunosuppression has been reversed experimentally.
In the near future, surgeons will be active participants in modulating
the healing process through pharmacologic treatment of
wounds.