ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces several aspects of wound care that are important to understand if we are to effectively undertake an overall, specific and holistic assessment and the management of patients with malignant lesions. A malodorous wound may be defined as any wound assessed as being offensive by either the patient and/or the professional. Tissue hypoxia in a fungating wound can be a significant problem, as anaerobic organisms flourish in accessible necrotic tissue – a characteristic of the majority of fungating tumours. The effects need to be assessed as part of the holistic patient assessment, addressed sympathetically, and all observations utilised in order to direct appropriate interventions, including those local to the wound. Wound infection can be the cause of discomfort and may result in odours being associated with the lesion as a result of anaerobic activity, such as with bacteroidal colonisation.
