“Appropriate patient selection, debridement, and reconstruction with appropriate postoperative rehabilitation can be very beneficial in elderly patients,” states Fatih Irmak, MD, Department of Plastic Surgery, Istanbul, Turkey.
What else did Dr. Irmak report in “Management and Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: Clinical Experience,” published in The Medical Bulletin of Sisli Etfal Hospital 2019; 53(1): 37-41?:
“Although reconstruction is still a controversial issue in elderly patients with advanced pressure ulcers, it has been established that infection, protein loss, morbidity, and mortality will increase in patients without proper debridement and reconstruction. Appropriate patient selection, debridement, and reconstruction with appropriate postoperative rehabilitation can be very beneficial in elderly patients. In patients whose general health condition is a contraindication for surgery, at a minimum, progression of pressure ulcers can be prevented with good wound care and conservative treatment.”
Read Dr. Irmak’s article here.
Dr. Greg Vigna, wound care expert and national decubitus ulcer attorney states, “The standard of care for management of deep Stage III and Stage IV decubitus ulcers will always be reliable pressure reliefs, reliable nutrition to support healing, surgical debridement of nonviable tissue, and flap closure when there is evidence of granulation tissue.”
Dr. Vigna concludes, “There are just a handful of centers around the country that provide the standard of care described by Dr. Irmak. Access continues to be a problem for those who suffer hospital-acquired or nursing home-acquired decubitus ulcers in the United States.”
To learn more about the outcomes of flap versus conservative management of decubitus ulcers, click here.
Greg Vigna, MD, JD, is a national malpractice attorney and an expert in wound care. He is available for legal consultation for families and patients who have suffered decubitus ulcers due to poor nursing care at hospitals, nursing homes, or assisted living facilities. The Vigna Law Group, along with Ben C. Martin, Esq., of the Martin Law Group, a Dallas Texas national pharmaceutical injury law firm, jointly prosecute hospital and nursing home neglect cases that result in bedsores nationwide.
To learn more: https://vignalawgroup.com/decubitus-ulcer-help-desk/
