Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs for Wounds: Pain Relief or Excessive Scar Formation?

Figure 2

Normal process of wound healing. The initial inflammatory phase begins at the time of wounding, when the activation of the coagulation cascade causes the release of cytokines that stimulate chemotaxis of neutrophils and macrophages into the wound to begin early debridement (1). The proliferative phase is signified by an abundance of fibroblasts and an accumulation of extracellular matrix (ECM) (2). The abundant ECM is then degraded and the immature type III collagen of the early wound is modified into mature type I collagen in final remodeling, or mature phase. A good healing process involves several enhancement factors.