Rapid healing of a delayed post amputation wound secondary to femoral artery thrombosis

Abstract

Post-amputation wound complications are a known problem for people with peripheral arterial disease. The risk is much higher for people who have immunosuppression or metabolic problems. When femoral artery thrombosis affects tissue perfusion, the body's natural processes for healing wounds are greatly weakened, making patients more likely to get a secondary infection and have long-lasting health problems. We present the case of a 56-year-old man with a constellation of systemic comorbidities type 2 diabetes mellitus, HIV infection, hypertension, and malnutrition who underwent right below-knee amputation following CT angiography-confirmed femoral artery thrombosis. Despite standard wound care and systemic antibiotics, the postoperative wound demonstrated persistent delayed healing, characterized by slough formation, active infection, moderate-to-high exudate levels, and significant pain. A structured collagen-based wound care protocol was introduced, utilizing a combination of QuoroGel®, QuoroFiber, and QuoroHeal as primary dressing agents, applied at three-day intervals over a 15-day treatment course. No adjunctive interventions such as offloading, compression therapy, or advanced supportive modalities were employed.

Clinically meaningful improvement was evident after the very first dressing application. Progressive development of healthy granulation tissue was noted by the second and third dressings, with epithelialization becoming apparent after the fourth. The wound responded well in terms of infection control and pain relief, with no treatment-related adverse events recorded throughout the observation period. In this patient with increased risk factors and impaired wound healing because of immunosuppression and malnutrition, it has been shown that collagen dressing can help to accelerate wound healing. It is possible that the benefit provided by collagen dressing could be proven through further controlled studies.