Healing by secondary intention

Leaving a wound open to heal on its own, by filling with granulation tissue and then skin growing in from the edges, instead of closing it with stitches, a flap or a graft. It takes weeks and needs regular dressings; on concave sites of the face it can give an excellent result.

Related terms

• Procedure

  Local flap

  A piece of skin and underlying tissue moved from next to a wound into the wound while it stays attached to its own blood supply. Because the skin comes from the same area, its colour and thickness match well. Common types are advancement, rotation and transposition flaps.

• Procedure

  Skin graft

  A thin layer of skin removed from one part of the body and placed on a wound elsewhere; survives initially by absorbing nutrients before new blood vessels grow in from the wound bed.

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