Opioid-Prescribing Practices in Plastic Surgery: A Juxtaposition of Attendings and Trainees.

Background: The rates of opioid abuse and overdose in America have risen in parallel with the rates of opioid prescribing by physicians. As such, we sought to examine the prescribing practices among plastic surgery attendings and trainees to determine the need for more thorough education.

Methods: A survey was distributed to all ACGME-accredited plastic surgery residency programs and included questions regarding opioid-prescribing practices and self-rated ability pertaining to opioid management.

Palliative Wound Care: Less Is More.

Palliative wound care is a philosophy of wound management that prioritizes comfort over healing and attends to the emotional distress these wounds can cause. Intervention strategies focus on management of symptoms such as pain, odor, bleeding, and exudate. Historic treatments such as honey, chlorine, and vinegar have gained renewed interest, and although well suited to the palliative setting, there is an increasing amount of research exploring their efficacy in other contexts.