Method for Evaluation of Surgical Wound Healing: A Case Study

We arranged a case study in order to examine whether tetrapolar bioimpedance measurement could be applied for evaluating the healing of a surgical wound. We measured the donor site surgical wound of a patient who had undergone a breast reconstruction surgery. The measurements were conducted three times in a nine days period, starting from the first postoperative day. As a reference, the impedance of an unaffected site was also measured. The electrodes were placed at equal distances, four centimetres apart in a parallel formation. The results show that, at low frequencies, the impedance of the wound increases with time. At higher frequencies, the situation is opposite; the impedance of the wound is initially higher than the reference and decreases with time. Both ends seem to approach the reference impedance as the healing proceeds. Our results are in accordance with the normal course of surgical wound healing and more specifically appear to be related to the diminishing swelling around the wound site. We conclude that the obtained results are interesting in a level that calls for further investigation.