Wound Healing

Diabetes can lead to the appearance of skin lesions and ulcers in 25% of patients. This is due to the involvement of diabetic disease on vessels, nerves and epithelial tissue. On the other hand, they are patients who, due to their own underlying pathology, have a high risk of infection, causing important general or local complications. There are also some conditioning factors such as:

– Alterations in the microcirculation, that is, in the vessels of large, medium and small caliber, as well as alterations in the microcirculation that affect the capillaries.

– Infections of the feet, generally due to fungi, due to lack of hygiene, constant humidity in the feet, contagion, etc.

– Maceration of the interdigital spaces between the fourth and fifth fingers.

– Bone alterations of the feet, due to bone malformations and/or conditioned by motor neuropathy.

– Decrease in skin flexibility and the consequent increase in the risk of its deterioration.

– Decreased sensitivity and thus decreased pain perception.

For this reason, it will be essential to work on the prevention of the appearance of these lesions, educating the patient to recognize not only the risks but, more importantly, the preventive measures that he or she can put into practice in order to avoid the appearance of these lesions, which are difficult to cure and that often have a great facility to develop complications.

Pressure ulcers also known as: pressure sore, decubitus sore and decubitus ulcer, are lesions of ischemic origin located in the skin and underlying tissues with skin loss, they are produced by prolonged pressure or friction between two hard planes, one belonging to the patient and one external to he/she. Two mechanisms are combined in its development: vascular occlusion due to external pressure and endothelial damage at the microcirculation level.

Pressure ulcers occur when the blood supply to the skin is interrupted for more than two or three hours, as a result of the pressure exerted by the bones and the hard plane of the support, which causes a crushing of the blood vessels, reducing the supply of oxygen and nutrients to that area under pressure and causing tissue necrosis. As the skin deteriorates, the ulcer forms, first presenting as a reddened, painful area on intact skin that does not blanch on pressure. Later, if the appropriate measures are not taken, it adopts a purple color. The skin begins to thin, involving both the epidermis and the dermis, and a small superficial ulcer is seen. Time later, the thickness of the skin is completely lost, the subcutaneous cellular tissue is affected and the ulcer grows superficially and in depth. In a final stage of evolution, the ulcer acquires a considerable size, with great destruction of the underlying skin, muscle or bone.

The most frequently involved body parts are those where bony prominences protrude, and which are pressed against an object (wheelchair, bed, cast, or splint).

Increased venous pressure in the legs caused by: standing for a long time, obesity, smoking, sedentary lifestyle, as well as genetic factors, can favor the appearance of venous-type vascular diseases, having an impact on the circulation of the lower extremities, which if not treated may have complications such as ulcerative lesions that are difficult to control with the risk of being colonized and infected by microorganisms that hinder the healing of said ulcers.

At Proviquer, a clinic specializing in wound healing, we offer professional assessment, diagnosis, care and control of venous ulcers, with minimally invasive debridement treatments, specialized healing dressings, infection control and healing, offering a specific treatment plan for each patient.