Surgeons often care for patients with conditions of abnormal wound healing, which include conditions of excessive wound healing, such as fibrosis, adhesions, and contractures, as well as conditions of inadequate wound healing, such as chronic nonhealing ulcers, recurrent hernias, and wound dehiscences. Despite many recent advances in the field, which have highlighted the importance of adjunct therapies in maximizing the healing potential, conditions of abnormal wound healing continue to cause significant cost, morbidity, and mortality. To understand how conditions of abnormal wound healing can be corrected, it is important to first understand the basic principles of wound healing.