A pharmaceutical composition and method for topical wound treatment by topical treatment with gallium salts, preferably gallium nitrate. In a preferred embodiment, the gallium nitrate is in an aqueous form without coagulation inhibitors such as citrate. The aqueous gallium salt formulation may be administered by a variety of methods including spraying, topical lotions, topical foams, and/or bandages containing or packaged with breakable ampoules of aqueous gallium salt formulations, and liquid bandage formulations. The aqueous gallium salt formulation may additionally contain other active and inactive ingredients, such as viscosity modifying agents, foaming agents, antiseptics, antibiotics, enzymes, fibrinogen, fibrin, polymers and growth factors.