Abstract
Hydrosurgery is the evolution of traditional wound cleansing.
It consists of surgical tissue removal through a water jet using a dissection tool precisely on the damaged necrotic tissues, sparing the healthy ones.
The angled tip of the instrument allows performing debridement in narrow spaces and pockets where debridement through scissors or blades can be challenging.
It is possible to combine hydrosurgery with superoxidized solutions or solutions containing polyhexanide (PHMB): Both are non-toxic for tissues and perform well against all types of infected materials.
The water jet might spread bacteria, so this could contribute to contamination of the surgical site.
It is possible to avoid air contamination by using protection devices capable of reducing aerosol diffusion. Cost-effectiveness and costs of the equipment for hydrosurgery are generally higher, especially due to the cost of single-use materials.
The advantages of being a rapid, precise, and effective technique make hydrosurgery appalling and suitable for complex wounds that need to be debrided, possibly in a single session under local anesthesia. Hydrosurgery is considered cost-effective thanks to the reduction in hospital management costs and, in some cases, in hospital stay.
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Campitiello, F. (2023). Hydrosurgery in Wound Care. In: Maruccia, M., Papa, G., Ricci, E., Giudice, G. (eds) Pearls and Pitfalls in Skin Ulcer Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45453-0_19
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-45453-0_19
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