Bed Sore FAQ » Bed Sore FAQ: Debridement of Bed Sores | Treatment

Are Bed Sores Inevitable For Obese Patients In Nursing Homes & Hospitals?

admin — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:46:12 +0000

An article published in the Las Vegas Sun, painted an unfortunately common set of circumstances; an overweight patient goes into a hospital for a medical procedure– only to acquire pressure sores during their stay. Sure, the same scenario can (and most certainly does) occur with people of average stature, but there definitely is a disproportionate number of obese patients who enter a hospital or nursing home only to develop a lingering souvenir.

The sun article concentrates on 60-year-old Tyrone Bush, a maintenance man, who was admitted to Desert Springs Hospital for a quadruple heart bypass surgery in 2008. It was during Bush’s recovery at the hospital, that he developed multiple bed sores (or pressure sores, pressure ulcers, decubitus ulcers) on his buttocks.

More than two years later, Mr. Bush continues to be plagued from the wounds and requires extensive medical treatment for them including doctors visits and debridement procedures– where the dead skin is removed to allow the new skin to grow over the open wounds.

Not surprisingly, the hospital where the wounds developed blames the wounds on Mr. Bush himself, implying that the wounds were unpreventable given his size.

What is surgical debridement of bed sores?

Simple preventative techniques can drastically reduce the rate of hospital-acquired decubitus ulcers

Why is it important to differentiate the type of facility where a bed sore developed?

Nursing Home Injury Laws: Nevada

What is mechanical debridement of bed sores?

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:33:25 +0000

Mechanical debridement of bed sores involves packing the open wound with damp dressings. When the dressing dry out they are pulled from the wound along with the (hopefully) dead tissue. This can be a painful process due to the fact that bits of live skin may actually be removed along with the dead tissue.

What is chemical debridement of bed sores?

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:31:59 +0000

Chemical debridement of bed sores involves the use of medically-prescribed enzymes to remove dead tissue.

What is biological debridement of bed sores?

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:30:58 +0000

Biological debridement of bed sores involves the use of maggots to eat the decayed tissue from the wound. In addition to removing decayed tissue, the maggots clean harmful bacteria from the wound. The FDA approved the use of maggots to clean bed sores in 2004.

What is autolytic debridement of bed sores?

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:30:17 +0000

Autolytic debridement is the use of moist dressings to promote bodies’ own enzymes to heal bed sores. Generally, this is considered to be a painless healing process. This may not be a feasible method of healing individuals who are in a weakened physical state as their body is not strong enough to complete the healing process.

What is surgical debridement of bed sores?

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:29:16 +0000

Surgical debridement is when a surgeon uses a scalpel to remove the dead tissue, bone and fluid from the area around the bed sore.

Surgical debridement of the bed sore may be accompanied by ‘flap reconstruction’. Flap reconstruction is when tissue is harvested from a healthy area of the person’s body to cover the open wound. The goal of reconstruction is to improve the hygiene and appearance of the wound and reduce the risk of infection.

Surgical debridement of bed sores has one of the highest complication rates of any surgical procedure. Recovery from the procedure is time intensive and painful. Therefore, the use of surgical debridement to treat bed sores is usually considered to be a last resort.

Most of the time surgical debridement is only considered in cases involving advanced stage bed sores. The concept behind the procedure is that skin needs to be free of dead or damaged tissue in order to heal. Even with the most advanced medical treatment, some bed sores require surgical intervention.