Tomorrow and Beyond, Discovering Giants of Wound Care

(continued from the June Editorial Message)

Dear Readers,

Throughout the centuries there have been countless remarkable men and women who have earned the title of being a “Giant of Wound Care.” Great stories surround their contributions such as Galen, who was the surgeon to the gladiators in the Roman coliseum. Dominique Jean Larry, one of the surgeons in Napoleon’s army, was the first to devise an ambulance service to remove the injured from the battlefield and establish the need for wound debridement. His contributions were so appreciated by both his men and Napoleon that his name was inscribed in the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. Larry is noted as the only physician to be so honored. Ignatz Philipp Semmelweis was a Hungarian surgeon who while working in Vienna, Austria discovered the concept that physicians were passing infections from one patient to another because of the refusal to wash one’s hands. He was so maligned because of his findings and methods that he was chased from his practice and subsequently died in an insane asylum—ironically from an infected wound. There are many others whose stories we hope to tell in future articles.

More recent heroes have provided us with our understanding of the biochemistry of wound healing and discovered the role of growth factors in the healing of wounds. Others developed tissue culture techniques, which have provided us with tissue engineered skin products. Our colleagues who are currently pursuing cutting edge therapies through gene therapy, stem cell therapies, and other techniques (which will be the standard therapies of tomorrow) should also be considered our wound care heroes. Who do you know that should be considered a modern day wound care hero whose story should be told?

Just as we are standing on the shoulders of the “Giants of Wound Care” who came before us, who is standing on our shoulders? That can be an intimidating thought, but someone is learning from you about caring for patients with wounds. They will be taking the information you are teaching them, adding information from others, and combining it with their experiences to treat the next “generation” of patients with wounds. What are we teaching them? As we stand one generation on the shoulders of another, are we providing the ones standing on our shoulders with a solid foundation of knowledge on which to stand and build? Or, is the foundation we are currently providing dubious and lacking solidity?

Terry Treadwell, MD, FACS