The role of ultrasonic debridement in an advanced wound care program

In this advanced wound care program, sharp debridement is routinely performed by physicians and certified nurses.  Patients with pain issues are anesthetized with either topical liquid or gel lidocaine or, if needed, 1% or 2% injectable lidocaine. This pain management approach is effective for the majority of the patients needing debridement.   So, when presented with an ultrasonic device* which painlessly debrides wounds, it was questioned whether there was a place for this device in our program.   A trial was initiated on patients whose pain could not be controlled with the available methods and whose wounds were covered with slough and fibrin.  The use of the ultrasonic device* is simple and proved to be a pain-free alternative to sharp debridement. As the wounds were debrided, healing times decreased, and the wounds were prepared for other advanced modalities. A number of patients were treated with this therapy and this poster will reveal the clinical outcomes of three cases.  However, as the volume in the clinic continued to grow, the staff and room availability limited the use of a three times a week treatment.  Fortunately, other clinical settings also learned of the benefits of this ultrasonic device* and the patients now have more sites available for the therapy.  Currently this program is coordinating with home-care, long-term, and rehabilitative care settings to offer continuity of care which includes this debridement approach.  With the opportunity for expansion, we plan to add this ultrasonic therapy* to our debridement and treatment options for patients with painful wounds unable to tolerate sharp debridement.