The following Exhibitors Preview highlights some of the companies, products, and services that will be presented during the upcoming Symposium on Advanced Wound Care and Wound Healing Society Meeting. Each exhibit represents a valuable resource for learning and provides an enjoyable way to meet professionals who bring these products and services to you. Be sure to take this opportunity to see what they have in store for you at the Tampa Convention Center.

This year, more than 400 abstracts were accepted for presentation at the SAWC/WHS in Tampa. Of those, 30 were accepted for oral presentation. The abstracts featured here will be presented during sessions 12, 17, 23, 37, and 59. The accepted poster presentations may be viewed throughout the entire meeting and during the scheduled poster sessions, which will be held Sunday, April 29, 7:00 am–8:30 am, and Monday, April 30, 7:00 am–8:30 am. To access the entire SAWC brochure, including session titles, faculty, and abstracts, visit http://www.sawc.net

Chronic wounds affect approximately 2.5 million to 4.5 million people in the US and are particularly a problem for the elderly. Nonhealing or slow healing wounds represent a major health burden and drain on resources, contributing to substantial disability, morbidity, and costs. This study was conducted to identify factors that influence the healing of chronic wounds within 3 months of starting treatment, compared to factors influencing nonhealing wounds after 5 or 6 months of treatment. A retrospective review of medical records of subjects with chronic pressure, diabetic, or venous ulcers using a structured data collection form and protocol was conducted at 4 sites located in disperse geographic areas. The sample consisted of 400 subjects with at least 3 months of data. Demographic, case mix, wound characteristics, and treatment characteristics were analyzed. Consistent with the literature, wounds that were larger, deeper, infected, draining larger amounts of exudate, and/or covered

Necrotizing fasciitis is a rare but potentially lethal bacterial infection of the fascial and subcutaneous tissues. Mortality rates of this condition remain high, ranging from 6%–76%.1 Bacterial cultures may show a wide variety of organisms2, but Group A Streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes) is the causative agent in up to 71% of all human cases.3,4 The treatment consists of urgent radical surgical debridement in combination with broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy.5 Maggot debridement therapy (MDT) has been proven to be very effective in the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections.6–9 The present study reports on the results of 15 patients with necrotizing fasciitis treated with surgical debridement and antibiotic therapy in combination with MDT from November 2001 to November 2005. A detailed case report of 1 patient is presented.

Lesser toe deformities include, but are not limited to, hammertoes, mallet toes, and claw toes. In people with diabetes, these conditions can create pressure points and lead to callous and ulcer formation. Conservative treatment methods such as extra-depth toe box shoes, pads, inserts, and splints provide mixed results with inevitable recurrent ulcerations. Closed or percutaneous flexor tenotomy is a definitive corrective procedure for severe lesser toe deformities often complicated by ulceration in the insensate patient with diabetes. The authors illustrate this simple, office-based procedure in a step-by-step approach to correct these deformities and thereby offload pressures. The technique provides rapid healing and may prevent potential toe and lower extremity amputations.

Gluteal fasciocutaneous (FC) rotation flaps can still be used to close sacral pressure ulcers but tend to develop a large dog-ear on the buttock. This study presents a new method of avoiding a dog-ear deformity (Burow’s triangle) while achieving adequate repair of pressure ulcers on the buttock by using a modification of the bilobed rotation flap. This “pigeon head” modification of the rotation flap successfully covered all 7 sacral ulcers. In all cases, Burow’s triangles were unobtrusive immediately after surgery. This technique is simple, can be performed quickly, has minimal associated morbidity, and yields a good outcome.