Abstract
A skin ulcer is defined as a tissue lesion that shows poor or no tendency to spontaneous healing. The most frequent types are venous, arterial, diabetic, and pressure ulcers. Although very common, they are often managed inaccurately. The significant burden of morbidity and economic costs related to the disease highlights the unmet need to implement ulcer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment guidelines based on the latest scientific evidence. For this reason, the introduction in clinical practice of dedicated diagnostic and therapeutic care pathways (DTCP) is desirable in order to establish a common decision-making process that can guide physicians on the proper management of skin ulcers and can implement collaboration between territorial and specialized hospital services in case of complex cases. The aim of this chapter is to highlight the indications for hospital surgical referral in the context of DTCP and to provide updated indications for reconstructive options in each ulcer subtype.
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Cammarata, E., Toia, F., Speciale, A., Maltese, M., Pergolizzi, T., Cordova, A. (2023). Surgical Indications in All Diagnostic and Care Pathways (DTCP) Settings. In: Maruccia, M., Papa, G., Ricci, E., Giudice, G. (eds) Pearls and Pitfalls in Skin Ulcer Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45453-0_40
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