Wiki Size matters 11042? 24.0 cm x 13.5 cm x 2.8 cm

[daniel]

Hopefully you can help.

If your doctor states the following 24.0 cm x 13.5 cm x 2.8 cm non-infected ulceration involving the skin and subcutaneous tissue of the plantar lateral aspect of the thigh.

Do you multiply all these together, 24.0 cm x 13.5 cm x 2.8 cm = 907sqcm? Or do you just grab the highest, for example 24.0cm x 2.8cm = 67.2cm

The 907 seems kind of high..

 

[thomas7331]

If the physician is giving you three dimensions, these will be the length, width and depth of the wound. You calculate the wound size/surface area only from the length and the width - the depth is not part of the calculation for the debridement area.

In a case like this, I think it's safe to assume that 2.8 cm is the depth - a wound depth of 13.5 or 24 cm just involving skin and subcutaneous tissue would be highly improbable - so your wound area will be 24 x 13.5 = 324 sq cm. If you are uncertain about which measure is the depth, though, you should query the physician, not just 'grab' a number.