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 .
Expressive Writing and Wound Healing in Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial
Objective To investigate whether expressive writing could speed wound reepithelialization in healthy , older adults . Methods In this r and omized controlled trial , 49 healthy older adults aged 64 to 97 years were assigned to write for 20 minutes a day either about up setting life events ( Expressive Writing ) or about daily activities ( Time Management ) for 3 consecutive days . Two weeks postwriting , 4-mm punch biopsy wounds were created on the inner , upper arm . Wounds were photographed routinely for 21 days to monitor wound reepithelialization . Perceived stress , depressive symptoms , health-related behaviors , number of doctor visits , and lipopolysaccharide-stimulated proinflammatory cytokine production were also measured throughout the study . Results Participants in the Expressive Writing group had a greater proportion of fully reepithelialized wounds at Day 11 postbiopsy compared with the Time Management group , with 76.2 % versus 42.1 % healed , & khgr;2(1 , n = 40 ) = 4.83 , p = .028 . Ordinal logistic regression showed more sleep in the week before wounding also predicted faster healing wounds . There were no significant group differences in changes to perceived stress , depressive symptoms , health-related behaviors , lipopolysaccharide-induced proinflammatory cytokine production , or number of doctor visits over the study period . Conclusions This study extends previous research by showing that expressive writing can improve wound healing in older adults and women . Future research is needed to better underst and the underlying cognitive , psychosocial , and biological mechanisms contributing to improved wound healing from these simple , yet effective , writing exercises . Trial Registration : Australian New Zeal and Clinical Trials Registry ( trial number 343095
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 .