Objective To explore the effect of nursing intervention based on ADOPT problem-solving model on wound repair and appearance satisfaction in patients with traumatic fracture complicated with soft tissue defect. Methods A total of 78 patients with traumatic fracture complicated with soft tissue defect admitted to People's Hospital of Hunan Province from February 2023 to December 2024 were selected, and they were divided into the reference group and the experimental group by the random number table method, with 39 patients in each group. The reference group received conventional nursing intervention, and the experimental group received nursing intervention based on ADOPT problem-solving model. The wound repair time, hospitalization time, wound healing, appearance satisfaction and complication rate were compared between the two groups. Results The wound repair time and hospitalization time in the experimental group were shorter than those in the reference group (P<0.05). The excellent and good rate of wound healing in the experimental group (94.87%) was higher than that in the reference group (74.36%) (P<0.05). The appearance satisfaction rate in the experimental group (94.87%) was higher than that in the reference group (76.92%) (P<0.05). The incidence of complications in the experimental group (5.13%) was lower than that in the reference group (25.64%) (P<0.05). Conclusion The application of ADOPT problem-solving model nursing in patients with traumatic fracture complicated with soft tissue defect can shorten wound repair time, improve the excellent and good rate of wound healing, improve appearance satisfaction, and reduce the incidence of complications.