Background: Chronic wounds are a significant health problem with devastating consequences for patients’ physical, social, and mental health, increasing healthcare systems’ costs. Their prolonged healing times, economic burden, diminished quality of life, increased infection risk, and impact on patients’ mobility and functionality make them a major concern for healthcare professionals. Purpose: This review offers a multi-perspective analysis of the medical literature focusing on chronic wound management. Methods used: We evaluated 48 articles from the last 21 years registered in the MEDLINE and Global Health databases. The articles included in our study had a minimum of 20 citations, patients > 18 years old, and focused on chronic, complex, and hard-to-heal wounds. Extracted data were summarized into a narrative synthesis using the same health-related quality of life instrument. Results: We evaluated the efficacy of existing wound care therapies from classical methods to modern concepts, and wound care products to regenerative medicine that uses a patient’s pluripotent stem cells and growth factors. Regenerative medicine and stem cell therapies, biologic dressings and scaffolds, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), electrical stimulation, topical growth factors and cytokines, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), advanced wound dressings, artificial intelligence (AI), and digital wound management are all part of the new arsenal of wound healing. Conclusion: Periodic medical evaluation and proper use of modern wound care therapies, including the use of plasma-derived products [such as platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and platelet-rich fibrin (PRF)] combined with proper systemic support (adequate protein levels, blood sugar, vitamins involved in tissue regeneration, etc.) are the key to a faster wound healing, and, with the help of AI, can reach the fastest healing rate possible.

Considering the potential of hydrogels to mimic the cellular microenvironment, methacryloyl gelatin (GelMA) and methacryloyl mucin (MuMA) were selected and compared as bioinspired coatings for commercially available polypropylene (PP) meshes for ventral hernia repair. Thin, elastic hydrated hydrogel layers were obtained through network-forming photo-polymerization, after immobilization of derivatives on the surface of the PP fibers. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) proved the successful coating while the surface morphology and homogeneity were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). The stability of the hydrogel layers was evaluated through biodynamic tests performed on the coated meshes for seven days, followed by inspection of surface morphology through SEM and micro-CT. Taking into account that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) may improve healing due to its high concentration of growth factors, this extract was used as pre-treatment for the hydrogel coating to additionally stimulate cell interactions. The performed advanced characterization proved that GelMA and MuMA coatings can modulate fibroblasts response on PP meshes, either as such or supplemented with PRP extract as a blood-derived bioactivator. GelMA supported the best cellular response. These findings may extend the applicative potential of functionalized gelatin opening a new path on the research and engineering of a new generation of bioactive meshes.

Gossypiboma or textiloma is a rare medical situation that can complicate the favorable evolution of a surgical case, with repercussions for the patient’s prognosis. The diagnosis can be difficult due to various clinical symptoms, the time elapsed since the surgical intervention, and the imaging often not being precise in detecting textilomas. Due to the medicolegal implications, the reporting of this event is inconsistent. We present a rare case of a 28-year-old woman who presented with vague pain in the left iliac fossa 11 months after an emergency cesarean hysterectomy was performed. The preoperative imaging examination identified the presence of a subhepatic mass with dimensions of 10 × 8 cm² and another formation in the right iliac fossa with dimensions of 11 × 9 cm². Exploratory laparotomy found the presence of a large subhepatic gossypiboma, intimately adherent to the hepatic angle of the colon and omentum and a second one adherent to the sigmoid colon, small intestine, and parietal peritoneum. The particularity of this case is given by the simultaneous presence of two textilomas with inconclusive evolution, which can make the differential diagnosis difficult to achieve. For a better assessment of the risk of occurrence of this pathology and the identification of a correct prevention strategy, we performed an extensive search and a review of all the articles published in the PubMed database, identifying 57 articles. In conclusion, emergency surgery increases the risk of this complication, and, as a result, prevention can be achieved by following existing protocols in the operating room.

Skin malignant melanoma (MM) is one of the most frequent and aggressive neoplasia worldwide. Its associated high mortality rates are mostly due to its metastases, while diagnosis and treatment of MM in its early stages is of favorable prognostic. Even skin superficial MMs at incipient local stages can already present with lymph node invasion and distant metastases. Therefore, knowledge of the controllable risk factors and pathogenic mechanisms of MM development, spreading, and metastatic pattern, as well as early diagnosis, are essential to decrease the high mortality rates associated with cutaneous malignant melanoma. Genetic factors are incriminated, although lifetime-acquired genetic mutations appear to be even more frequently involved in the development of MM. Skin melanocytes divide only twice per year and have time to accumulate genetic mutations as a consequence of environmental aggressive factors, such as UV exposure. In the search for more promising therapies, matrix metalloproteinases have become of significant interest, such as MMP-1, MMP-2, MMP-9, and MMP-13, which have been linked to more aggressive forms of cancer and earlier metastases. Therefore, the development of specific synthetic inhibitors of MMP secretion or activity could represent a more promising and effective approach to the personalized treatment of MM patients.

Chronic wounds, such as diabetic foot ulcers, pressure sores, and venous leg ulcers, represent a significant and growing challenge for global healthcare systems—not only due to their clinical complexity but also because of their profound economic implications. This paper investigates the direct and indirect costs associated with chronic wound management, emphasizing the disproportionate resource burden they place on health services, particularly in aging populations and individuals with comorbidities. By integrating global statistics with focused case studies from Romania, the analysis reveals that while wound dressings comprise a small portion of care expenses, the majority of costs stem from hospital stays, nursing care, and treatment of infections. The paper further explores the societal costs of productivity loss and welfare dependence, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Additionally, it examines the role of modern wound therapies—such as negative pressure systems and antimicrobial dressings—as well as AI-driven tools in improving clinical outcomes and enabling cost-effective care delivery. The Romanian healthcare context is analyzed as a case study to illustrate disparities in cost allocation and access to advanced treatments. Policy recommendations underscore the importance of early intervention, multidisciplinary management, and adoption of emerging technologies to ensure sustainable and equitable care models for chronic wound patients globally.