Essay About Patient Factors And Patients Overall Health Status

Patient Factors That Affect Wound Healing
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The patients overall health status will affect the speed of the healing process. The following are factors that should
be considered by the surgical team prior to and during the procedure.
* THE PATIENTS AGE–With aging, both skin and muscle tissue lose their tone and
elasticity. Metabolism also slows, and circulation may be impaired. All of these factors
lengthen healing time.
* THE PATIENTS WEIGHT–In obese patients of any age, excess fat at the wound site
may prevent securing a good closure. In addition, fat does not have a rich blood supply,
making it the most vulnerable of all tissues to trauma and infection.
* THE PATIENTS NUTRITIONAL STATUS–Deficiencies in carbohydrates, proteins,
zinc, and vitamins A, B, and C can impair the healing process. Adequate nutrition is
essential to support cellular activity and collagen synthesis at the wound site.
* DEHYDRATION–If the patients system has been depleted of fluids, the resulting
electrolyte imbalance can affect cardiac function, kidney function, cellular metabolism,
oxygenation of the blood, and hormonal function. These effects will not only impact
upon the patients overall health status and recovery from surgery but may also impair the
healing process.
* INADEQUATE BLOOD SUPPLY TO THE WOUND SITE–Oxygen is necessary for
cell survival and, therefore, healing. Skin healing takes place most rapidly in the face and
neck, which receive the greatest blood supply, and most slowly in the extremities. The
presence of any condition that compromises the supply of blood to the wound, such as
poor circulation to the limbs in a diabetic patient, will slow and can even arrest the
healing process.
* THE PATIENTS IMMUNE RESPONSES–Because the immune response protects the
patient from infection, immunodeficiencies may seriously compromise the outcome of a
surgical procedure. Patients infected with HIV, as well as those who have recently
undergone chemotherapy or who have taken prolonged high dosages of catabolic