ABSTRACT
Introduction A surgeon's goal to achieve successful wound healing rests on two basic prin-
ciples: (1) optimizing conditions for the body's natural wound healing mechanisms to occur, and (2) minimizing the manifold detriments which interfere with this process. A few, if any methods currently exist to actually enhance wound healing, the classic tenets of "keep the wound moist, dean, free of edema and free of bacteria" are based on these two fundamentals, which in turn are rooted in basic principles of wound healing biology. Although wound healing products available today are increasingly varied and sophisticated, their primary function remains to suppon the intrinsic wound healing process.
