Complex Wound Management: Dressing Techniques and Considerations

COMPLEX WOUND MANAGEMENT1
COMPLEX WOUND MANAGEMENT
Student’s Name
Course Name
Professor’s Name
University Name
City, State
Date

COMPLEX WOUND MANAGEMENT2
Evaluation
Complex wound management requires scientific knowledge as well as clinical experience. During my
clinical placement, I had an encounter with a patient who had a chronic wound and had come to the
clinic for dressing. The patient had diabetic foot ulceration. The patient was under my care and I began
preparing to dress the wound. I started with removing the necrotic wound tissue from the wound being
cautious of nerves, tendons and blood vessels. I also applied antibiotics followed by alginate and foam
dressing and covered with a removable offloading device. While I was about to finalize the RN came and
while we talked the patient intercepted and told the RN that she felt pain and needed her to look at the
wound once more. The whole process was a success to me despite the fact that the patient complained
of pain. But I later learned that the patient doesn't like to be handled by new practitioners. At the start, I
felt excited to put my knowledge and skills to practice. The whole process was overwhelming since it
was complex and required a lot of time. On completion, I felt discouraged by the patient's sentiments. I
achieved my goal of proper patient care and also respected the patient’s autonomy even when I felt
downhearted.
Analysis
To dress a diabetic foot ulceration that is infected some considerations must be met. The dressing
should be directed by the traits of ulcer, patient’s needs and financial costs(Hall, et al, 2014). Dressings
should provide wound protection, lessen symptoms and optimize healing(Game, et al, 2016). The
exudate in infected wounds is heavy and can cause maceration of surrounding tissue if not controlled.
There are different classes of dressings for diabetic foot ulcerations. We have; hydrogels dressings which
are similar to hydrocolloid made to enhance self-destruction necrotic tissue cells but dissimilar by
donating moisture to extremely drywounds(Chen, et al, 2015). Hence are not applied to wounds that
are exudating since they can lead to maceration(Dhivya, Padma and Santhini, 2015). Examples are
Intrasite Gel and Aquaform. They are used as a result of sharp debridement of necrotic eschar. To
people with ischemia, they should be cautiously applied.
Nonadherent or low-adherence are considered to be of high quality dressings for treatment for diabetic
ulcerations and control arm in dressing studies(Smith, et al, 2016). They are made in such a way that
causes minimal injury to the tissue while providing a moist environment for the wound. They are not
meant for managing infections but are used together in treatment of the wound with
antibiotics.Hydrocolloidsallows vapor diffuse through it. The absorbent layer can be foam or film. They
are made in such a way they can be left on wounds for long periods. They prevent infection in a wound.
Alginates are a wide range of seaweed products. They are absorbent, used in cavity wounds, provide
homeostasis and atraumatic. Foams dressings have absorbency, provide thermal insulation and easy to
cut into shape. Silver-impregnated dressings are used for acute and chronic wounds as a topical
antimicrobial(Smith, et al, 2016).