Department of Nursing, Women's Hospital, Los Angeles County-University of Southern California Medical Center.
We evaluated the time interval required for wound healing using a standard wound management protocol with and without aloe vera gel. Twenty-one women were studied who had wound complications requiring healing by second intention after cesarean delivery or laparotomy for gynecologic surgery. Wounds treated with standard management healed in a mean (+/- SD) time interval of 53 +/- 24 days, whereas those treated with aloe vera gel required 83 +/- 28 days (P = .003). The use of aloe vera dermal wound gel was associated with a significant delay in wound healing compared with treatment with an otherwise identical regimen that did not include aloe vera.