Hydrocolloid dressing versus conventional wound care after dermatologic surgery

BACKGROUND: Hydrocolloid dressings (HCD) are helpful in chronic wound care, but research is limited in acute postoperative wounds. HCD can potentially be incorporated into a simplified wound care regimen after excisional surgeries. OBJECTIVE: To examine whether a one-time HCD application after dermatologic surgery results in greater patient satisfaction and improved postoperative outcomes compared with conventional daily dressings (CDD). METHODS: We examined patients who underwent Mohs or standard surgical excision with linear closure followed by HCD. The patients additionally had a history of excisional surgery with CDD in the past 5 years. A modified version of the validated Bluebelle Wound Healing Questionnaire was administered. RESULTS: The survey response rate was 74.4% (64/86). Compared with CDD, HCD rated higher in comfort, convenience, scar appearance, and simplicity of wound care instructions (P < .0001). Nearly all patients (96.8%) preferred HCD over CDD. LIMITATIONS: Variability in time from prior dermatologic surgery may introduce recall bias. Prior surgeries involving CDD were sometimes performed by a different surgeon, which could introduce other confounding factors. CONCLUSIONS: A simplified wound care regimen involving HCD can potentially lead to increased comfort, convenience, simplicity, and a subjective improvement in scar appearance, though additional studies are needed.