Lacerations Melbourne

Lacerations frequently occur at the face, upper and lower limbs from a variety of accidents at home, at work, or sports-related.  

Facial injuries are one of the most frequent trauma presentations. No other part of the body is as conspicuous, unique and aesthetically significant as the face. For many people, facial trauma will bring issues of self-image and self-esteem to the fore, and plastic surgeons such as Dr Sally will treat injuries in this area with a great deal of sensitivity and care. She will do all she can to minimise the visual impact of the facial injuries and the surgeries required to treat them. However, patients need to be aware that some degree of scarring will be unavoidable. 

Common facial injuries include: 

• Simple lacerations from blunt trauma 
• Laceration involve special structures: lips, nose, eyelids, ears
• Laceration involving loss of tissue 
• Laceration involve deeper structure e.g. nerve, tear ducts 
• Fracture to the nose 

Hand, upper and lower limbs are another area where lacerations occur frequently. This can range from injuries with power tools, sharp instruments, or sports related injuries. In this instance, formal surgical exploration is important to identify any further underlying muscle, tendon, nerve, artery and bone structures that can be additionally damaged. If there is any structural injury, these need to be repaired to ensure a good functional outcome.

Why do I need to have surgery to repair the laceration?  

There are many reasons why a wound may require surgical repair: 

• Check for underlying structural injury and repair accordingly 
• Remove devitalised tissue and debris to minimise risk of infection 
• Approximation of tissue to ensure optimal scarring 

Without surgical exploration and repair, there is a risk of wound infection, delayed tendon rupture, or permanent sensory or strength loss due to missed nerve injury affecting the function of the affected body parts. 

When should I get a laceration surgically repaired?

You should aim to get your wound attended to as quickly as possible. If left untreated for a long period, wound infection is more likely. Patients who have malnutrition, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes and morbid obesity are at particularly high risk of wound infection. 

Before surgery, it is important to get a tetanus booster if your last dose was more than 10 years ago.