Authors: Belinda Marcus
Objective: Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is a non-invasive therapy that involves generating shock waves (transient pressure disturbances that propagate rapidly in 3-dimensional space) outside the body and transmitting the acoustic energy inside the body to induce therapeutic effects. This case series examines the effectiveness of ESWT in treating chronic wounds of varying etiologies.
Method: In this retrospective case series, ESWT was applied to chronic, non- healing wounds. Patients were treated at a single center between December 2019 and March 2020. The criterion for application of ESWT was lack of progress toward wound healing despite standard treatments.
Results: We assessed six patients aged between 52 to 81 years old. Two patients had surgical wounds, three patients had leg ulcers of various etiologies, and one had a diabetic foot ulcer (DFU). All patients experienced progressive healing over multiple ESWT sessions. All six patients experienced complete wound closure following six to eleven applications of ESWT applied approximately once a week.
Conclusion: This series presents the effective use of ESWT in the treatment of chronic wounds of various etiologies
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