Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 7, 2025
A Standardized Procedure of Dressing Management for Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis
Published on: March 14, 2025
Hydrocolloid dressing versus conventional wound care after dermatologic surgery
Samantha P Holmes1, Sydney Rivera1, Perry B Hooper1,2
1School of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, Indiana.
Background:
Hydrocolloid dressings (HCD) are helpful in chronic wound care, but research is limited in acute postoperative wounds. HCD can potentially be incorporated into a simplified wound care regimen after excisional surgeries.
Objective:
To examine whether a one-time HCD application after dermatologic surgery results in greater patient satisfaction and improved postoperative outcomes compared with conventional daily dressings (CDD).
Methods:
We examined patients who underwent Mohs or standard surgical excision with linear closure followed by HCD. The patients additionally had a history of excisional surgery with CDD in the past 5 years. A modified version of the validated Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire was administered.
Results:
The survey response rate was 74.4% (64/86). Compared with CDD, HCD rated higher in comfort, convenience, scar appearance, and simplicity of wound care instructions (P < .0001). Nearly all patients (96.8%) preferred HCD over CDD.
Limitations:
Variability in time from prior dermatologic surgery may introduce recall bias. Prior surgeries involving CDD were sometimes performed by a different surgeon, which could introduce other confounding factors.
Conclusions:
A simplified wound care regimen involving HCD can potentially lead to increased comfort, convenience, simplicity, and a subjective improvement in scar appearance, though additional studies are needed.
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