Updates in Wound Management and Dressings

Wound healing is a complex process that traverses 4 main phases which overlap and are interdependent. Many patient-related factors can impede healing by disrupting the normal pathways from one phase to the next. Wound-related factors also determine the best techniques or dressings for each patient. Species differences between cats and dogs must be understood for the successful treatment of cats. New techniques such as fish skin graft application, photobiomodulation, and bioelectric dressings hold promise as an addition to our armamentarium against wounds. NPWT, hyperbaric oxygen, regenerative medicine techniques, and low-level laser therapies yield mixed results and large-scale controlled studies are needed.