General Wound Care

1. Keep the bandage dry and in place until next morning

2. If bleeding should occur, apply firm continuous pressure for 20 minutes with a moist face cloth. If bleeding continues after 20 minutes, call our office immediately

3. Clean the wound once daily with gentle soap and water.

4. Change the dressing at least once a day or more frequently, as needed, if it becomes wet or dirty.

5. Cover with a band-aid or larger bandage if needed. If your wound is in an area where it is difficult to keep it covered with a bandage (e.g. scalp covered with hair), simply cover the wound several times a day with aquaphor or vaseline. Wounds (with or without stitches) covered with aquaphor or vaseline will heal better than wounds exposed to air, that are allowed to scab over. Continue the wound care for 1-2 weeks until biopsy sites are completely healed.

6. Minor discomfort, swelling and a small amount of bloody drainage are not unusual during the first 24-48 hours after biopsy. You may take Tylenol (acetaminophen) as needed for pain.

7. You may take a shower anytime after 12-24 hours after biopsy. However, we recommend not taking a bath in a tub or go swimming until the biopsy sites are completely healed.

8. If you have stitches, you need to return to the office for suture removal in 1-2 weeks. You should have been given an appointment time. If not, please call our office.

9. It is extremely important that you contact our office if you have not received the biopsy results within ten business days of the biopsy.

CONTACT YOUR PROVIDER IF YOU EXPERIENCE ANY OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. Excessive redness or tenderness in the area.
2. Yellow or greenish oozing from the wound.
3. Red streaks extending from the surgery site.
4. Fever.
5. Bleeding that persists after holding firm pressure with a clean wash cloth for 20 minutes.

This is to inform you that your physician is sending your specimen(s) for microscopic examination to be performed by a dermatopathologist who will report the results to your physician. You will be billed separately by the pathologist’s lab for their microscopic analysis, NOT by Atlanta North Dermatology.

1. Mix 2 cups of warm water with one tablespoon of white vinegar.2. Soak washcloth or gauze in the diluted white vinegar water so that it is wet, but not dripping, and apply to the wound for 5 to 10 minutes, once to twice a day, for 7 to 10 days.

3. After removing the washcloth/gauze, apply a layer of Aquaphor or Vaseline as recommended, and KEEP THE WOUND COVERED AT ALL TIMES EVERYDAY until it is completely healed.

4. If the site has any tenderness, redness or yellowish-green discharge, please call us immediately.

5. Please be sure to keep your follow-up appointment to check the wound
site.

Your surgical site, because of pre-existing infection, has been purposefully left open to allow continued drainage for a few days. It has a small ribbon of antibiotic impregnated gauze partially filling the space where the infection was drained. The tail of the gauze ribbon is left protruding through a small band-aid covering the site.You should change this outer layer of tape periodically as it gets dirty or after a shower when it gets wet. Leave the band-aid and ribbon arrangement in place for 48 hours. At that time you should pull the band-aid off, removing at the same time the antibiotic ribbon from the wound (discard them). It would be advisable to gently clean it well in the shower daily thereafter with soap and water.

The idea is to allow it to heal from the bottom of the wound with the outer layer of skin healing last. The wound typically heals very nicely, with a small scar over a period of several days to weeks or so (depending on the size of the original abscess). After the inflammation has subsided, there may be some residual cyst evident. If necessary, this can be removed electively 1-2 months later with a small in-office procedure.

1. 15-20 mm Hg support hose are recommended continuously for the initial 48 hours and as much as possible for the following 2 weeks.

2. Avoid heat, prolonged sitting or standing, or strenuous exercise for the first 48 hours. Elevation of the leg while sitting is recommended. After the initial 48 hours, patients are encouraged to walk, with no restriction of activities except for heavy weight lifting with the legs.

3. Ice packs and aspirin help to alleviate any possible discomfort; muscle cramps often occur, usually lasting 3-5 minutes – gentle massaging and walking help.

4. Remove bandages after 24-48 hours.

5. There will be some post-treatment bruising and possibly discoloration that will gradually fade, and the treated areas will often look worse before clinical improvement is noted. Remember: It may take 3-4 weeks for any improvement to be seen in treated vessels.

6. Treatment intervals vary, but waiting 4-6 weeks between treatments will help minimize the number of treatment sessions.

How do I take care of my wound?

Leave the bandage on for 24 hours, unless it soaks through with blood and needs to be changed earlier. If there is oozing of blood after you leave the office, apply a new dressing and hold firm pressure over the wound for 15 to 20 minutes. If the oozing doesn’t stop after several attempts of holding firm pressure for 20 minutes, please call the office immediately. Once the oozing has stopped, or the bandage has soaked through and needs to be changed, place Aquaphor or plain Vaseline and a new dressing over the wound once a day. It is advisable to avoid ingesting aspirin, ibuprofen and alcohol for a day or two after the surgery, because these can make the wound bleed more.

1. Wash the wound once daily with soap and water
2. Apply Aquaphor ointment or Vaseline to the wound
3. Cover with a band-aid or larger bandage if needed. If your wound is an area where it is nearly impossible to
keep covered with a bandage (e.g. scalp covered with hair), simply cover the wound several times a day with Aquaphor or Vaseline4. Change the dressing more frequently, as needed, if it becomes wet or dirty.

Can I take a bath or shower?

If possible, try to avoid a bath or shower for at least 12 to 24 hours. However, there is no problem taking a bath or shower as long as the wound only briefly comes in contact with water. Keep the wound covered when possible while bathing and clean it afterwards as directed above. Wounds in areas that can’t be easily covered (e.g. hairy scalp) may get briefly wet while you bathe/shampoo but be gentle and don’t scrub over the wound. Also, don’t let the shower beat down on the wound for more than a few seconds at a time.

What about swimming and hot tub use after surgery?

Avoid immersing the wound in water for at least one to two weeks after the biopsy. You should stay out of hot tubs and swimming pools until the wound is completely healed. Soaking the wound in water may slow the healing process and increase the risk of getting an infection.

How long do I have to keep the wound covered?

Keep the wound covered with Aquaphor or Vaseline and a bandage until you return to the clinic for suture removal, but at least for one week. If the wound is in a location where it gets rubbed by clothing or is likely to get dirty, you may want to keep it covered longer, or at least until the stitches are removed. Covered wounds heal faster than uncovered wounds.

What else should I watch for?

Beware of Infection!

Small percentage of wounds will become infected after surgery. If the skin around the wound becomes red, swollen, and painful, or pus starts to drain from the area, you may have an infected wound. If these signs and symptoms develop, call the office immediately so that you can be evaluated and, if necessary, started on an antibiotic without delay. It is normal for the wound to drain small amounts of clear or red fluid. However, if the wound drains white or yellow fluid (pus), call us immediately. Failure to call about an infected wound can have serious consequences.

What about the stitches?

Removing stitches causes little discomfort and is usually done 7-14 days after surgery, depending on the location and type of surgery that was performed. You should have been given a time when to return to have stitches removed.

What about exercise and activities?

Certain activities may need to be curtailed during the healing process. This depends on the activity and type of wound. Before engaging in exercise and athletic activities, you should inquire about the limitations from your wound.

What is cryosurgery?

Cryosurgery is a technique used to destroy certain types of skin growths by freezing them with liquid nitrogen.

What should I expect after cryosurgery?

During and immediately following treatment, there may be some pain or stinging in the treated area. This may last a few hours, and sometimes longer, particularly when freezing warts or skin cancers. If needed, you may take a pain reliever like Tylenol to relieve any discomfort.

The area that has been frozen may begin to swell and sometimes forms blisters after several hours. The swelling reaction should peak in one to two days. The area may also drain blister fluid. Later a crust or scab may form.

Most areas will be completely healed in three to six weeks. Areas treated on the back, chest and trunk may take longer to heal than those treated on the face. A loss of skin color (pigmentation) is often followed by return of the color after several months but sometimes the color never returns completely back to normal.

How do I care for the treated area?

Wash the treated areas gently with mild soap and water once to twice daily. Afterward, you can apply Vaseline and a Band-Aid for 5-7 days, once to twice daily. Keeping the area moist with the ointment may promote healing. If scabs develop, don’t pick at them as they may delay healing and may cause a scar to form.

Infection following cryosurgery is rare. However, if the drainage looks like pus or you are worried by the appearance of the treatment site, please call and let us know immediately.