Tensile strength of wound after laparoscopic cholecystectomy in a 30 years old woman depends upon:: (A) Replacement of type 3 collagen, (B) Extensive crosslinking of tropocollagen, (C) Macrophage activity/invasion, (D) Granulation tissue
Answer is B. The recovery of tensile strength results from the excess of collagen synthesis over collagen degradation during the first 2 months of healing, and, at later times, from structural modifications of collagen fibers (cross-linking, increased fiber size) after collagen synthesis ceases.