Conclusions This systemic review shows that preoperative interventions can be beneficial in improving wound healing and scar formation .
In selected cases , wound healing was found to benefit from a higher preoperative body temperature , topical vitamin E application , and low patient stress levels .
Background Poor wound healing and scar formation  remain critical problems in daily surgical practice .
Generally , most attention is paid to intra- and postoperative interventions to improve wound healing after surgery , while preoperative interventions remain unsatisfactorily explored .
Objectives In this systematic review , the available literature on the beneficial effects of preoperative interventions on wound healing and scar formation have been summarized and compared .
Stress, Social Support, and Delayed Skin Barrier Recovery
Objective : To examine the effect of a brief laboratory stressor and social support before the stressor on cardiovascular and cortisol responses , and skin barrier recovery after skin disruption . Methods : Eighty-five healthy participants ( mean age 22.9 ± 4.4 years ) underwent a “ tape-stripping ” procedure that disrupts normal skin barrier function , and were r and omly assigned to a No Stress ( reading task ) , Stress ( Trier Social Stress Test ) , or Stress + Social Support condition ( support from a confederate before the stressor )  . Skin barrier recovery was assessed by measuring transepidermal water loss from up to 2 hours after skin disruption . Results : Compared with the No Stress condition , the stressor delayed skin barrier recovery by 10 % at 2 hours after skin disruption ( effect size , r = .29 ) , and increased anxiety ( r = .24 ) , negative affect ( r = .22 ) , cardiovascular activity ( r values from .4–.6 ) , and among male participants , cortisol levels ( r = .40 ) . Social support did not influence psychological or physiological responses or skin barrier recovery . Larger physiological responses to the tasks did not predict slower skin barrier recovery . Instead , larger systolic blood pressure responses predicted faster skin barrier recovery ( r = .26 ) . Conclusions : This study replicated the effects of short-term laboratory stressors on skin barrier recovery , further establishing the relevance of skin barrier recovery for future research . The support manipulation did not influence physiological responses or skin barrier recovery , suggesting that future research on social support , physiology , and objective health outcomes should focus on naturalistic social interactions , relationships , and stressors . AUCI = area under the curve with respect to increase ; BMI = body mass index ; DBP = diastolic blood pressure ; GCRC = General Clinical Research Center ; HR = heart rate ; MAP = mean arterial pressure ; SBP = systolic blood pressure ; TSST = Trier Social Stress Test ; TEWL = transepidermal water loss
Conclusions This systemic review shows that preoperative interventions can be beneficial in improving wound healing and scar formation .
In selected cases , wound healing was found to benefit from a higher preoperative body temperature , topical vitamin E application , and low patient stress levels .
Background Poor wound healing and scar formation  remain critical problems in daily surgical practice .
Generally , most attention is paid to intra- and postoperative interventions to improve wound healing after surgery , while preoperative interventions remain unsatisfactorily explored .
Objectives In this systematic review , the available literature on the beneficial effects of preoperative interventions on wound healing and scar formation have been summarized and compared .