Wound Type

In closed wounds, the skin edges are re-approximated by stitches, staples, tissue adhesives or adhesive strips and left to heal by primary intention.

Stage III: Full thickness tissue loss. Subcutaneous fat may be visible but bone, tendon, or muscle are not exposed. Slough may be present but does not obscure the depth of tissue loss. May include undermining and tunnelling. Stage IV: Full thickness loss with exposed bone, tendon, or muscle. Slough or eschar may be present on some parts of the wound bed. Often include undermining and tunnelling.

Traumatic wound occurring on the extremities of older adults as a result of friction alone or shearing and friction forces.

Open surgical wounds are left to heal by secondary intention, which involves leaving wound to heal naturally, and relies on granulation tissue arising from the base of the wound to fill the tissue deficit created by surgery.

Stage I: Intact skin with non-blanchable redness of a localised area usually over a bony prominence. Darkly pigmented skin may not have visible blanching; its colour may differ from the surrounding area. Stage II: Partial thickness loss of dermis presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red pink wound bed, without slough. May also present as an intact or open/ruptured serum-filled blister.