Patricia B Hotaling is Clinical Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, US; Joyce M. Black is Florence Neidfelt Professor of Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, US

Nafad Mohammad Elhadidi is Consultant General and Vascular Surgeon, General Surgery Department, Zulekha Hospital Sharjah, Al Zahra Street Al Nasserya, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates;

Ahmed Ramadan Wahdan is General Surgery Specialist, Department of Surgery, Al Hammadi Hospital – Al Olaya, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Mohamed Abouzeid

Ahmed Gaballa Ali is General Surgery Consultant, Diabetic Foot and Chronic Wounds care unit, Exir Subspecialities Medical Centre, Jahra, Kuwait

      The Arabian Gulf region has seen an increasing rise in diabetic foot ulcers (DFUs) with prevalence ranging from 4.7% to 19% in Saudi Arabia (Hu et al, 2014; Mairghani et al, 2017). Current practices for standard of care include wound debridement, wound offloading and dressings. The authors successfully managed diabetic foot ulcers with oxygen free-radical binding technology as an adjuvant therapy for our patients. HemaGel® (VH Pharma), a hydrophilic gel, contains sterically hindered amines that bind with reactive oxygen species (ROS) and thereby accelerates wound healing by showing an anti-inflammatory effect. The three case reports in this article discuss the use of targeted oxygen free radicals to promote wound healing by oxidant/antioxidant disequilibrium methodology in the authors’ patients. With supporting diabetes controlling medications and HemaGel, wound healing was achieved successfully in these patients.

Authors (clockwise from top left): Naser Alhumaidi, Mariam Alessa, Abdul Aziz Alshahe and Emilio Galea

Naser Alhumaidi is Senior Specialist in General Surgery, Head of Diabetic Foot Unit Department of Surgery, Farwaniya Hospital, Kuwait; Mariam Alessa is Diabetes Specialist Podiatrist, Diabetic Foot Unit Department of Surgery, Farwaniya Hospital, Kuwait; Abdul Aziz Alshaheen is General Practitioner Surgery, Diabetic Foot Unit Department of Surgery, Farwaniya Hospital, Kuwait; Emilio Galea is International Medical Director, Urgo Medical

Chronic wounds are an international and regional concern affecting many patients, demanding substantial resources from healthcare systems. Managing patients with these wounds is costly in terms of time and resources required, not forgetting the detrimental impact on the quality of life of these individuals. Moreover, diabetic foot problems are very common throughout the world, and their recurrence is high. In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO, 2022)reported that 14.7% of the population of Kuwait are suffering from diabetes, with very high percentages of overweight, obese and inactive individuals. It is inevitable that many of these individuals suffer and/or will suffer in the future from diabetes-related foot ulcers and complications, and the management of these wounds is complex. The authors reviewed the evidence behind a local treatment indicated for chronic wounds and specific in neuropathic diabetic foot ulcers. In view of the high level of evidence regarding this local treatment, a pilot study was conducted in 2021 to analyse the feasibility of a larger-scale observational study. The article highlights the results of the initial pilot and discusses the feasibility of conducting further research to justify implementation of technology lipido-colloid nano oligosaccharide factor(TLC-NOSF) dressings in the local management of patients with diabetic foot ulcers in Kuwait.

Authors: Rhidian Morgan-Jones (Chair), Amit Gefen and Kylie Sandy-Hodgett

Rhidian Morgan-Jones (Chair) is Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Cardiff Knee Clinic, University Hospital Llandough, Cardiff, UK; Amit Gefen is Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Herbert J. Berman Chair in Vascular Bioengineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; Kylie Sandy-Hodgetts is Associate Professor, Centre of Molecular Medicine & Innovative Therapeutics, Murdoch University; Senior Research Fellow, Director Skin Integrity Research Institute, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia

      This meeting report is based on the Mölnlycke-sponsored workshop held at the sixth World Union of Wound Healing Societies (WUWHS) Congress on March 1–5, 2022, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The workshop, titled ‘Surgical incision care — negative pressure wound therapy and advanced dressings: what to use and when’, included presentations from Kylie SandyHodgetts, Rhidian Morgan-Jones and Amit Gefen. The topics of surgical dressings, risk assessment and requirements of closed-incision negative pressure wound therapy (ciNPWT) were all explored.