On January 20th, I had a basal cell carcinoma removed from my head along with the stitches a week later. It's been exactly two weeks and two days, the sides have healed and closed but the middle is wide open. It's a centimeter wide & in circular shape. I have seen the doctor and he told me to keep Vaseline inside of the wound, and that it would need to heal from inside-out. I have been doing as told but it's still not closing. Should I let it dry out or give it more time? Will it ever close?
February 6, 2017
Answer: Open wound after Mohs Surgery Thank you for your question. I completely understand your concern but it is still early. It can take weeks to a couple months to close on its own. Healthy granulation tissue needs to form from the bottom up and unfortunately, this takes time. Please continue to clean the wound and apply the ointment as prescribed.Best.Ariel Ostad MD PC
Helpful 2 people found this helpful
February 6, 2017
Answer: Open wound after Mohs Surgery Thank you for your question. I completely understand your concern but it is still early. It can take weeks to a couple months to close on its own. Healthy granulation tissue needs to form from the bottom up and unfortunately, this takes time. Please continue to clean the wound and apply the ointment as prescribed.Best.Ariel Ostad MD PC
Helpful 2 people found this helpful
February 6, 2017
Answer: Dehiscense When a wound which has been sewn up opens, it is called dehiscense, and can be a complication of any type of surgery. When it occurs, the surgeon usually has two options. One of these is to allow the wound to heal on its own. This is called second intention healing. This is usually accomplished by cleaning the wound at least daily, not letting a scab form, and keeping the wound lubricated with an ointment or Vaseline and keeping the wound covered between cleanings. This allows the wound to fill with granulation tissue from the bottom up. When it reaches the top of the wound, new skin will cover the top of the wound from the outside in. The result is a flat and smaller wound then the original one. Letting it open to air will cause a scab to form, preventing the wound from filling with granulation tissue and forcing new skin to form under the scab. This can result in a depressed wound close to the same size as the original.The surgeons second option is to re-close the wound. This is dependent on a number of factors including blood supply, laxity of surrounding tissue, infection, new skin forming over the wound edges, etc. The minimum required prior to re-closing a dehisced wound is to "freshen-up" the wound edges. This is removing any epidermis which has formed over the wound edges preventing them from attaching to one another.
Helpful 2 people found this helpful
February 6, 2017
Answer: Dehiscense When a wound which has been sewn up opens, it is called dehiscense, and can be a complication of any type of surgery. When it occurs, the surgeon usually has two options. One of these is to allow the wound to heal on its own. This is called second intention healing. This is usually accomplished by cleaning the wound at least daily, not letting a scab form, and keeping the wound lubricated with an ointment or Vaseline and keeping the wound covered between cleanings. This allows the wound to fill with granulation tissue from the bottom up. When it reaches the top of the wound, new skin will cover the top of the wound from the outside in. The result is a flat and smaller wound then the original one. Letting it open to air will cause a scab to form, preventing the wound from filling with granulation tissue and forcing new skin to form under the scab. This can result in a depressed wound close to the same size as the original.The surgeons second option is to re-close the wound. This is dependent on a number of factors including blood supply, laxity of surrounding tissue, infection, new skin forming over the wound edges, etc. The minimum required prior to re-closing a dehisced wound is to "freshen-up" the wound edges. This is removing any epidermis which has formed over the wound edges preventing them from attaching to one another.
Helpful 2 people found this helpful
