An overview of best practice wound care in two cases of thromboangiitis obliterans

This report describes two cases of patients with TAO who developed CLTI with subsequent wounds. Both patients had a 30-year smoking history. The first case was a 47-year-old man. In addition to complaints of numbness and pain in his left foot for the past year, he also had a wound in the middle of his left foot. He developed CLTI due to TAO. Wound irrigation, serial debridements, moist wound care, and interventions to increase granulation were best practices in Case 1. However, amputation was performed on the second toe due to demarcated necrosis. The second case was a 43-year-old man diagnosed with TAO three years ago. One month after these complaints, wounds developed on the first and fifth toes of his left foot. The fifth toe was subsequently amputated. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy was administered after the amputation. The wound on the first toe recurred, and an additional wound developed at the stump site on the fifth toe approximately 4 years later. In both cases, interventions were performed in accordance with wound care best practices. The wound on the fifth toe had closed on the day 5, and then the first toe had also begun to granulate on the day 26.

In patients with TAO, best practice wound care and smoking cessation are key practices for wound management and limb salvage.