19 July 2021

Cristina Quinteiro describes the use of medical grade honey to achieve healing in an elderly patient with chronic leg wounds and complex poly-morbidity.

24 February 2020

Alison Schofield asks if tissue viability is in crisis, and explains how WCT and TVN2Together aim to offer support.

21 February 2019

A recently published paper in the journal Bioethical Inquiry by Sharp et al (2019) posed the provocative question in its headline ‘Two hourly repositioning for prevention of pressure ulcers in the elderly. Patient safety or elder abuse?’ Here some of you have your say.

21 February 2019

Most leg ulcers seen in practice are venous in aetiology. However, there are several atypical causes that you may come across from time to time. These should be considered if a leg ulcer is failing to heal as expected, despite best practice. Here atypical leg ulcer presentations are detailed.

06 March 2025

Wound malodour is often an unpleasant side-effect experienced by patients with hard-to-heal wounds. The impact on mental and physical wellbeing is profound and can result in  embarrassment, social isolation, depression and nausea. This list is not exhaustive and understanding the effect of malodour on an individual should be considered during holistic patient assessment. This article presents the findings of two surveys which aimed to gain a deeper understanding of the impact that malodour has on individuals and also the challenges experienced by healthcare professionals (HCPs) when treating patients with malodorous wounds. The patient survey was completed by 29 people, of which 76% (n=22) experienced wound malodour. The HCPs survey was completed by 789 respondents and challenges highlighted included lack of training and education, limited access to appropriate dressings and managing  patient expectations.

13 March 2023

About 20 women a day are diagnosed with ovarian cancer in the UK; that is approximately 7000 cases per year.1 The surface of the ovaries, fallopian tube and peritoneum are all close together making it difficult to distinguish where the cancer has started. Cancers that start in the ovary, fallopian tube or peritoneum often cause the same symptoms, are diagnosed using the same tests and are treated in the same way. The main treatments for these types of cancers are surgery and chemotherapy.1

23 March 2023

Venous leg ulcers (VLU) pose significant challenges to patients and healthcare systems and can persist for months and even years1. The annual cost of managing venous leg ulcers in the UK is £941.6 million2. It is estimated that 1-2% of the population worldwide suffer from hard-to-heal ulcers affecting patients’ quality of life (QOL) and negatively impacting wound healing3,4.
A pilot study undertaken by Schwartz et al.5, treated nine VLUs with sNPWT for 4 weeks alongside compression bandaging and showed a decrease in the size of VLUs by 32%. Graduated compression therapy is first-line treatment for patients with VLU as it is an effective treatment and results in a low risk of recurrence3. Despite this, many VLUs remain hard to heal, however the PICO 7 sNPWT can help facilitate a positive wound healing trajectory for these types of wounds6.

21 February 2020

Lorraine Jones describes how dressing spend was increasing year on year at the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, and in order to drive efficiency, procurement of dressings was switched from supply chain to ONPOS. The process and outcomes are described.
 

23 March 2023

Mr C is a 50 year old gentleman who sustained trauma to his right calcanium when falling off a ladder in 2017. This injury resulted in extensive surgery to his left foot, by the orthopaedic and plastic surgeons, resultant in muscle bulking which is planned for future surgery. The devastating effects of this injury were not only physical but psychological as the strain on both him and his family left a feeling of low mood and the inability to work. Mr C had been referred to a number of speciality consultants where no communication between these specialities had occurred, causing him both frustration and a feeling of little hope that his wound would heal.