• Lacerations, abrasions, contusions, penetrating, contaminated, and chronic nonhealing wounds.
• Post-op incisions are included in this section because they are a “surgical wound.” “Incisional wounds.”

Mechanism of Action:
Wound healing is a natural multi-staged process in which the patient responds to any traumatic incident with an orchestrated biochemical cascade of events set in motion to repair the damage and restore these disrupted tissues to normal anatomical activity while leaving little cosmetic evidence of their initial occurrence.
This repair and restoration event has four overlapping phases:

• Hemostasis (Clotting)
• Inflammation
• Tissue growth (Proliferation)
• Maturation

Laser therapy significantly influences each of these stages, accelerating each phase of the healing process. The biochemical cascade of events resulting from the application of laser therapy has the ability to cause:

• Vasoconstriction
• Activate fibroblasts and macrophages.
• Release growth factors and neurotransmitter substances.
• Influence collagen synthesis and organization.
• Increase vascularization.
• Aid in the proliferation of epithelial cells.
• Initiate tissue remodeling.

Treatment:

• Cleaned, debridement, and lavage.
• Pain management
• Systemic antibiotics
• Closure of the wound with sutures, staples, glue, or surgery.
• Laser therapy is administered immediately after closure followed by appropriate sequential therapy sessions.

Open Wound:

• Administer laser therapy immediately after cleaning, debridement, and lavage before applying topicals, moist dressings, or bandages.
• Administer at each bandage change after cleaning and before the application of topicals and dressings.
• Topicals
• Bandaging
• Controlled exercise.