Abstract
BACKGROUND: This case study describes the care of an obese male with a history of hypertension and venous insufficiency.
CASE: The patient is a 55-year-old nonsmoker with clinical evidence of normal extremity arterial flow, who sustained a traumatic rupture of a venous varicosity on his left lateral calf while getting out of his car. Several months of wound care using standard compression strategies failed to result in wound closure. Drawing on a case study that described the management of a burn wound with silver hydrofiber, the patient was successfully managed with the same silver hydrofiber along with compression. This wound reepithelialized following application of a single dressing that remained in place under compression for a period of 2 weeks. After months of trial and failure, full healing was achieved within 4 weeks of initiating this treatment.
CONCLUSION: Delivery of optimal care is based on the unique needs of the patient and available resources. This case illustrated how a published case study can be applied to the unique challenges of a second patient.