Management of a Dehisced Hand Wound Using Hydrogen Peroxide, Electrical Stimulation, Silver-containing Dressings, and...

Wound dehiscence is the separation of a wound along surgical sutures. A 57-year-old, otherwise healthy mechanic presented with a large open wound of >1 month duration on his left hand. His wound had dehisced after treatment that involved cleansing, surgical sutures, and oral antibiotics. He presented with a 5.0 cmx0.7 cmx0.3 cm lesion through the palmar creases of the hand with edema around the fourth and fifth digits and a callous formation around the distal portion of the wound. The wound had scant serosanguinous drainage and some induration at the periwound area, as well as a moderate foul odor. Tendons were not affected, but function was limited, the hand was painful, and the patient had been unable to work. Treatment was initiated with twice-a-week immersion of the hand in hydrogen peroxide diluted with water subjected to high-voltage pulsed current electric stimulation (HVPC). The wound was dressed with silver-containing dressings secured with stretch gauze and a compression garment. The wound was completely closed after 9 visits (35 days). No functional limitations of the hand or fingers, no cosmetic defect, and no wound recurrence were noted 9 months after healing. Although uncommon, dehisced wounds, especially in certain anatomical locations such as the hand, can be difficult to heal and may cause long-term problems with functioning. The treatment combination facilitated expedient healing of this dehisced hand wound. Research is needed to help elucidate the observations from this case study.