WOUND CLOSURE AND CARE IN ORAL AND MAXILLOFACIAL SURGERY

Wound healing is a complex and dynamic process with the wound environment changing with the changing health status of the individual. Although healing culminates uneventfully in most instances a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors can hamper or facilitate the process. Understanding wound healing at multiple levels provides the surgeon with a framework for basing clinical decisions aimed at optimizing the healing response. Adherence to surgical principles facilitates wound healing with re-establishment of tissue continuityminimization of scar size and restoration of function. Selection of appropriate suture materials and dressings play a key role in enhancing wound closure and avoiding further contaminations and complications.