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Debridement Technique in Osteomyelitis

Osteomyelitis is an acute or chronic bone infection that forms a deep and painful wound. The infection can start in the bone or spread from another part of the body to the bone, and is usually caused be either a bacteria or a fungi. Surgical debridement is a procedure used to clean dead and infected tissue from your wound to aid in healing; it is one of the more drastic treatment options available to doctors treating this condition.

  1. Debridement Overview

    • Surgical debridement is performed by a skilled physician using scalpels, forceps, scissors and other sterilized instruments. Prior to beginning the procedure, the skin around your wound is cleaned and disinfected. The surgeon will first probe the wound with a metal instrument to establish its exact depth and then slowly cut away the dead tissue. Once this is complete, the area will be irrigated or washed out to remove any remnant tissue that may be floating freely in the wound.

    Debridement Follow-Up

    • Removing dead space created by dead tissue removal is an important part of the treatment regimen for osteomyelitis patients following surgical debridement. There are several ways in which doctors can fill the dead space created by debridement for osteomyelitis patients: myoplasty, a form of plastic surgery involving muscle tissue; free-tissue transfer, which involves the movement of skin tissue from one area of the body to another; or beads made out of bone cement filled with powerful antibiotics.

    A Last Resort

    • When osteomylelitis is diagnosed in its early stages, the preferred course of treatment is antibiotic therapy. If the infectious wound fails to respond to antibiotics in a timely manner, surgical debridement is considered as an option prior to considering amputation.

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