A wound is an injury to living tissue, most often where the skin integrity is interrupted. Most people are familiar—often through personal experience—with common wounds such as cuts, scrapes, blisters, and minor burns. Some wounds can be have a serious impact on the individual because they are deep and/or extensive. These might include stab wounds, gunshot wounds, major burns and many types of surgical incisions.
In healthy individuals, most wounds heal on their own over time with minimal intervention. These are known as acute wounds.
However, for people with conditions such as diabetes, poor blood flow in the legs, neurological or sensory deficits, musculoskeletal conditions, etc., wound healing can be slow or stall completely. These slow, stalled or non-healing wounds are known as chronic wounds. These slow, stalled or non-healing wounds are known as chronic wounds, and they can sometimes be present for years if left untreated. This wound type can lead to serious complications such as significantly altered lifestyle, amputation and death. Patients with chronic wounds usually need the assistance of an experienced wound management team to address the reasons the wound is not healing as expected.