Use of a Novel Hydrosurgery Device in Surgical Debridement of Difficult-to-heal Wounds
Prof. Michelle Pascone, Giovanni Papa, Alessandro Ranieri, Wounds
Before I say anymore I feel I must delclare that I worked for Smith and Nephew a few years ago and therefore may by some be classed as bias.
Having left and returned to NHS practice I have seen the versajet in use at clinical level. The results were as fantastic as I had expected, pretty much instant debridement give or take 20 mins or so :) fantasic a clean wound bed and the patient felt nothing other than a tickle.
I personally think it is a fantastic tool and only wish it were possible to have more machines available.
Outside of work i have met people who have in other trusts had their surgical debridment cancelled time and time again as the theatre was overbooked or an emegency had to be done instead as so they were bumped to the next week.
Versajet would quite possibly have been a quicker and cheaper option with better experience and less hospital stay for the pt than the time kept in hospital awaiting each new surgiacal slot.
Hydrosurgery debridment in my experience offers brilliant oppertunity to patient care and journey whilst reducing costs.
Yep, I`d agree it does produce some amazing `clean` wounds and appears to promote healing in chronic diabetic ulcers. Graham Bowen demonstrated its `ventura effect` and use in clinic at the Societies conf a couple of years back.
Long term, it could save money, but is the NHS interested in long term solutions :deadhorse:
Just a minor point; perhaps the presence of PN would account for the pts only feeling "a tickle" ;)
Did any of these companies ever look into splashback/ aerosol effect of using these water based cutting tools? I would have thought it would be considerable. Also, how much do they cost per tool and are they reusable? Can they be processed/ resterilised if multiuse?
As I understand it, these water jets are similar to using a knife - what makes it OK to perform surgical debridement outside of an operating theatre with a water jet and when it's not OK to perform it with a scalpel? The problem with these types of tool is it is probably very difficult to prove that they are equally, more or less efficient than existing debridement methods given the varying patient population they are generally used on and the methods of measuring success in these cases.
I am not opposed to the use of new technology, but I am keen to know if it will actually be better than existing tools and whether it is worth any extra charge.
Each hand piece is single use. Not sure of cost but when compaired to theatre time it way more cost effective. Splash back appears minimal as it sucks up the fluids and tissue etc.
Thanks for the replies. Bearing in mind the types of wound you are likely to use a water cutting jet on, is there any research or audit on aerosol effect of these tools? Have local infection control departments assessed this? Why is it OK to use a water cutting jet instead of a blade for clinical debridement? What types of wounds need to be taken to an operating theatre? Why? Why is it OK to debride these wounds in a clinic with a water jet but it is not OK to use a scalpel? Does anybody use water jet cutting tools in an operating theatre? Why?
Apologies for all the questions, but I do not understand the benefits of one over another. I see it quite simply - clean knife cuts bad tissue OR clean water sprays off bad tissue. I do not know of any of the benefits of a water jet over a scalpel. What other tools do you use apart from the water jet? I presume you use some forceps, etc... - does using a water jet cut down on the amount of equipment needed for each procedure and the associated costs of sterilisation? Is there any proven cost reduction - reduced appointment frequency, less staff needed, etc... ?