Assisted Healing-Selective Delayed Reconstruction for Subacute Traumatic Wounds of the Lower Limb

Patients often are being referred to plastic surgery for reconstruction of complex wounds in the subacute phase of healing. According to Godina,1 the time interval for the acute reconstruction (early free flaps) is less than 72 hours.2 Byrd et al,3 however, believe that the acute period of the wound lasts 1 week. Only after that, the wound enters in the subacute phase in which treatment of complex wounds becomes more prone to complications (bone and soft-tissue infection, free flap failure).