Panuncialman J, Hammerman S, Carson P, Falanga V, et al.
Wound repair and regeneration : official publication of the Wound Healing Society [and] the Eur.... Date of publication 2010 Jan 1;volume 18(1):21-5.
1. Wound Repair Regen. 2010 Jan-Feb;18(1):21-5. doi:
10.1111/j.1524-475X.2009.00559.x.
Wound edge biopsy sites in chronic wounds heal rapidly and do not result in
delayed overall healing of the wounds.
Panuncialman J(1), Hammerman S, Carson P, Falanga V.
Author information:
(1)Department of Dermatology and Skin Surgery, Roger Williams Medical Center,
Providence, Rhode Island 02908, USA.
Wound biopsies are an essential diagnostic component in the management of chronic
wounds. First, the possibility of malignancy or infection in the wound often
requires sampling of the wound edge and its bed. Secondly, several practice
guidelines recommend biopsying wounds that have not responded to treatment after
2-6 weeks. However, there has always been a concern that the biopsy may worsen
the wound and delay overall healing. In this report, we investigated the safety
and effects of wound biopsies on overall chronic wound healing rates (advance of
the wound edge per week toward the center) before and after the biopsy was
performed. In a cohort of 14 consecutive patients with chronic wounds of the
lower extremity, we found that postbiopsy chronic wound healing rates
(0.99+/-1.18 mm/week; mean+/-SD) were not decreased and were actually higher than
prebiopsy chronic wound healing rates (0.49+/-0.85 mm/week; mean+/-SD, p<0.05).
In addition, we documented that healing of the biopsy sites up to the original
wound edge occurred within 6 weeks in 11 of the 14 subjects. Therefore, we
conclude that chronic wounds do not worsen after being biopsied and that wound
biopsies are a safe procedure that does not delay overall healing of the chronic
wound.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1524-475X.2009.00559.x
PMCID: PMC3013292
PMID: 20082677 [Indexed for MEDLINE]
