J Korean Foot Ankle Soc.  2015 Mar;19(1):39-41. 10.14193/jkfas.2015.19.1.39.

Meshed Stab Incision for Severe Swelling after Foot and Ankle Injury: A Technical Report

• Hyun YS
• Kim GL
• Shin SI
• Hong SY
• Park JS
• Choi SM

• KMID: 1958705
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.14193/jkfas.2015.19.1.39

Abstract

Swelling is a body's natural reaction to foot and ankle injury to mount a healing inflammatory response. To some degree, swelling is necessary for healing and is something that cannot be avoided following injury. However, post-traumatic swelling may have an adverse effect on wound healing and surgery can often be delayed due to preoperative swelling. We report on a unique technique of making multiple meshed stab incisions around the site of injury to reduce soft tissue swelling and promote wound healing.

Keyword

Swelling; Meshed; Stab incision

MeSH Terms

Ankle Injuries*
Foot*
Wound Healing

Figure

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  Figure 1. (A) A 22-year-old male patient had severe swelling with blister formation on his right foot. (B) Simple radiograph shows multiple fracture on his right foot.

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  Figure 2. Postoperative radiograph shows reduction and internal fixation of the multiple fractures.

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  Figure 3. Intraoperative clinical photos show widening of multiple stab incisions by mosquito (A), irrigation using a 50 mL syringe (B), and the final state of meshed stab incision with number 11 scalpel blade (C). (D) Clinical photo taken 7 days after surgery shows decreased swelling without any signs of infection.

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