Independent nurse prescriber Kate Monteith-Ross explains how she uses LED phototherapy to assist wound healing as part of her clinic’s post-surgery care
Wounds typically follow various stages from the initial trauma. There is haemostasis, swiftly followed by a three key stages. Each stage echoes the distinct phases of healing – inflammation, proliferation and remodelling, the length of which is entirely dependent on the complexity of the procedure and general health of the patient.1-4
Stages of wound healing
Inflammation typically lasts between one and six days; however, this can be longer depending on the significance of the wound. Immediately post surgery there is vasoconstriction, platelets and clotting. This is also a time when the patient is most susceptible to seromas and/or fluid retention. During this stage, granules of histamine and enzymes are released from mast cells, typically presenting as the swelling and redness we see in a wound.1
Proliferation usually begins around day six until day 21 post surgery. The key elements of this phase involve substituting the temporary fibrin matrix with a newly formed matrix composed of collagen…
