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Introduction:

Debridement is a basic necessity to induce the process of tissue repair especially in chronic wounds.

Methods:

In this prospective, blindly assessed pilot study we used a new debrider technology with specific monofilament fibres in a unique texture to evaluate its efficacy, safety and tolerability. In altogether 11 patients exhibiting all kinds of wound-associated debris (biofilms, slough, necrotic crusts, ‘hyperkeratotic’ plaques, see table 1) the debrider*, wetted with physiological solution, was wiped without specific force over the wound for about 2-4 minutes.

Results:

The debrider* removed almost all debris leaving healthy granulation tissue (including even small epithelialised islands of vital tissues) intact. (fig. 1 - 4) The patients didn’t feel adverse symptoms, in particular no pain. The healthcare professional’s global assessment revealed that the use of the debrider* was easy, fast and very efficient. Scanning electron microscopic analyses identified the majority of the removed debris tightly packed within the monofilament texture (fig. 5 and 6). Finally, a surgeon blindly assessed pictures of wounds (taken before / after the debridement), ranked all debridement results into the best category and one wound formerly classified for a need of surgical debridement as “equal to surgical debridement”.

Conclusion:

We have generated the basic proof of concept that the new debrider*-based technology is easy, fast, highly efficient, safe and well-tolerated. Further, since the new debrider* allows its broad use not only by specialised physicians but also by all healthcare professionals, it is anticipated that its use would save substantial costs. Hence, the new debrider* puts the need of other wound bed preparation procedures into question.