Dr. Ben Wedro practices emergency medicine at Gundersen Clinic, a regional trauma center in La Crosse, Wisconsin. His background includes undergraduate and medical studies at the University of Alberta, a Family Practice internship at Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario and residency training in Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Most frequently, the closure of choice is suture that is a single filament,
meaning that it is not braided and is made of material that does not cause
irritation. The two main choices are nylon and polypropylene. Staples may be
used when potential scarring isn't as important and may be used in the scalp.
Often surgeons who have made a long incision use staples on the abdomen, back,
or extremity.
If the laceration follows the crease lines of the body (lines of Langerhans)
and is not under stress or stretch, Steri-Strips or butterfly Band-Aids may be
considered. Dermabond or skin glue is another potential option for repairing the
skin. For this option, the wound must be superficial and run along the crease
lines, not be under stress or stretch, and blood or hair may not be present at
the wound site. If Steri-Strips or Dermabond are used, the principles of wound
cleaning and exploration still are important considerations.
In some circumstances, for example, when a plastic surgeon makes incisions in
the operating room under controlled situations, very thin absorbable sutures are
used to close the skin. A material made of polyglycolic acid (Dexon) or polyglactic acid (Vicryl) can be used just beneath the epidermis to allow for good
skin closure.
How is repair of deep tissues achieved?
If the laceration requires layered closures in which the sutures will not be
able to be removed, dissolvable suture material may be used. Polyglycolic and
polyglactic acid or polyglyconate (Maxon) may be considered. Other materials may
include silk or catgut (chromic). Often the suture is braided, allowing some
cells of the body to "invade" it and thereby allow greater inflammation to cause
the suture material to dissolve.
Depending upon the type of material and the circumstances, absorbable suture
may take from three weeks to three months to dissolve.
Osteomyelitis is an infection of the bone. Potential causes include injections around the bone, fractures that puncture the skin, recent surgeries, and bacterial infections that travel from other areas of the body, spreading through the blood to the bone. Symptoms include pain, fever, chills, stiffness, and nausea. Treatment involves antibiotics and pain medications. Surgery is sometimes necessary.
There are millions of dogs living in the United States, and thus many cases of dog bites. Annually, hundreds of people seek emergency medical care for dog bites. Treatment for a dog bite depends on how deep the injury is and the amount of tissue damage. Dog bites can be prevented by employing preventative measures.
Wisdom teeth are the third set of molars that people get in their late teens or early twenties. Impacted wisdom teeth that only partially erupt allows for an opening for bacteria to enter around the tooth and cause an infection, which results in pain, swelling, jaw stiffness, and general illness. Before your wisdom teeth are pulled, the teeth and the surrounding tissue will be numbed with a local anesthetic. Recovery from wisdom tooth removal depends upon the difficulty of the extraction.
Scar formation is a natural part of the healing process after injury. The depth and size of the wound incision and the location of the injury impact the scar's characteristics, but your age, heredity and even sex or ethnicity will affect how your skin reacts.
The hand has several bones to include the wrist, palm, and fingers. Fingers are the most commonly injured part of the hand. The most common causes of broken fingers are a traumatic injury to the finger or fingers such as playing sports, injury in the workplace, falls, and accidents. Treatment for a broken finger may be as simple as buddy taping the broken finger to the adjacent finger, or if the fracture is more serious, surgery.
First aid is a complicated subject and it is situation-specific. First aid is the help and medical assistance that someone gives, not only to an injured person, but to a person who is sick. Preparedness is a key element of first aid, like having basic medical emergency kits in your home, car, boat, or RV. Cuts, puncture wounds, sprains, strains, nosebleeds are one type of injury that may require first aid; heart attacks, strokes, seizures, and heat stroke are examples of more critical first aid emergencies.
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