Have a question
A pressure ulcer is the loss of tissue in areas of the body due to continuous external pressure from a hard material or continuous internal pressure from a bone. They are most commonly found in elderly patients who are bedridden in hospital or nursing home beds, receiving home care, or in wheelchairs. Of course, there are other factors that can cause pressure ulcers, such as hemiplegia, quadriplegia, intellectual disability combined with mobility problems, pathological obesity, anorexia, and other severe eating disorders.
Pressure ulcers are categorized according to their extent, severity, depth, and the necrosis of underlying muscles, tendons, bones, and joints.
Their treatment usually involves care in a hospital or clinic. Preventing their progression is particularly important and requires physiotherapy, special mattresses, trained nursing staff, targeted nutrition, intensive skin care, and frequent surgical debridement.
For deep and extensive pressure ulcers, plastic surgery can provide definitive wound closure by designing specialized surgical flaps using muscles and subcutaneous tissues transferred from healthy adjacent areas.
The plastic surgeon coordinates the entire team of medical specialists and therapists involved in the treatment of a pressure ulcer and determines the timing and method for surgical debridement of necrotic tissues, as well as the complete closure of the created defect.
Often, treatment is long-term and requires persistence and patience from the patient and their family.