Wound debridement, an uncommon healing practice
3 minutes read
- Wound debridement is a little-known healing technique; specialists recommend seeing an expert rather than treating wounds with unorthodox methods.
Santo Domingo. – At different times in our lives, we may accidentally suffer some kind of wound, such as surgical wounds, burns, simple wounds or chronic wounds, which are difficult to treat. In these cases, debridement – the surgical removal of devitalised tissue – is a proven option that improves hygiene, promotes healing of damaged tissue and removes the bacterial load, reducing infection and the pain caused by an acute injury.
However, through lack of knowledge, many people treat their wounds with unorthodox methods. For example, they apply dressings when they shouldn’t and don’t when they should, or clean wounds too often when it isn’t appropriate.
Given this reality, the right thing to do is see a medical or nursing specialist to treat the wound, or request the home or outpatient service offered by wound healing experts.
Debridement techniques
Dr. Joan Martínez, Director of Operations at Curatech and a WCC-certified skin care and management specialist, explains that “there are various wound debridement techniques, and the patient’s general situation must be assessed to determine what type of debridement the injury requires and the different treatment options available depending on associated conditions”.
Whatever type of injury the patient has, it is important to be clear about the aetiology of the injury, how long the patient has had it and the patient’s risk factors. Once that information is available, a better diagnosis can be made and a correct treatment plan implemented. It is worth noting that chronic wounds are defined by healing time, not by the severity of the wound, says the wound care and healing expert.
She adds that wound debridement removes dead tissue, potentially reduces signs and symptoms of infection (perhaps together with intravenous treatment), eliminates bad odour, promotes the functional and structural restoration of the skin, speeds up healing by accelerating the cell proliferation phases, and gives a real view of the wound bed, in most cases making it possible to identify whether the injury has tunnels or undermining.
Expertise in wound healing
In the Dominican market, there are service companies that provide the necessary follow-up for this type of treatment at home. Specifically, in Santo Domingo there is CuraTech, a provider of specialised healthcare services at home or wherever is convenient for the patient, with modern facilities that give patients comprehensive care to international infection control and safety standards.
Dr. Joan Martínez says that “to heal, reduce the risk of infection and improve patient outcomes, at CuraTech we include a variety of debridement methods in the wound management care plan. Using more than one debridement method provides consistency in preparing the wound bed for healing“.
“Our greatest expertise is wound healing, using different dressings under our evidence-based protocols and the application of intravenous therapies, all in line with what the patient’s primary doctor requires.”
She also noted that “at CuraTech we offer care for skin injuries, ostomies, intravenous medication, enteral and parenteral feeding, intramuscular medication, general medical assessment, Cura Home (nursing services), care for COVID-19 patients and negative pressure systems, among other services wherever is convenient for you, from the comfort of your home or workplace or at our centre at Calle Florence Terry No. 5, Ensanche Naco“.