title: Transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen after surgical wounds.
abstract: Transcutaneous partial pressure of oxygen (TcPO2) predicts wound healing in critical ischemia. However, no studies have controlled for the effect of wounds on TcPO2. In this study, in 24 hip or knee arthroplasty cases without vascular disease, TcPO2 was measured preoperatively at the incision site, contralaterally, and at a reference site on the chest wall. The measurements were repeated at 2 days and 2 months postoperatively and compared. TcPO2, normal preoperatively, decreased at all sites on the second postoperative day (p < 0.001), with a trend toward a greater decrease at the wound (p = 0.09). All wounds healed, and TcPO2 returned to baseline at all sites 2 months postoperatively. In conclusion, acute surgical wounds are associated with a significant and widespread decrease in cutaneous TcPO2 in the setting of normal arterial perfusion. This decrease is likely multifactorial and deserves further investigation.
authors.affiliation: Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN 55905, USA.
authors.forename: lan R
authors.initials: lR
authors.lastname: McPhail
authors.forename: Leslie T
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Cooper
authors.forename: David O
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Hodge
authors.forename: Miguel E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Cabanel
authors.forename: Thom W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Rooke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001785:Blood Gas Monitoring, Transcutaneous / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011184:Postoperative Period; D012867:Skin / Q000098:blood supply; D013529:Surgical Wound Dehiscence / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology