title: Vascular assessment of wound healing: a clinical review.
abstract: Although macrovascular screening of patients with chronic wounds, particularly in the lower extremities, is accepted as part of clinical practice guidelines, microvascular investigation is less commonly used for a variety of reasons. This can be an issue because most patients with macrovascular disease also develop concomitant microvascular dysfunction. Part of the reason for less comprehensive microvascular screening has been the lack of suitable imaging techniques that can quantify microvascular dysfunction in connection with non-healing chronic wounds. This is changing with the introduction of fluorescence microangiography. The objective of this review is to examine macro- and microvascular disease, the strengths and limitations of the approaches used and to highlight the importance of microvascular angiography in the context of wound healing.
authors.affiliation: The Angiogenesis Foundation, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: William W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Strategic Solutions, Inc., Cody, WY, USA.
authors.forename: Marissa J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.affiliation: The Angiogenesis Foundation, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Elad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mashiach
authors.affiliation: Designed Altobaric Research Foundation, Livonia, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Stephen D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Guthrie
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease; D006801:Humans; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D055806:Microvessels / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000502:physiology*; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Chronic wounds; Fluorescence microangiography; Macrovascular disease; Microvascular dysfunction