The Availability of Ultrasound Device in Diabetic Foot Ulcer

J Korean Wound Management Soc > Volume 3(1); 2007 > Article

Original

Journal of the Korean Wound Management Society 2007;3(1): 14-18.

당뇨병성 족부 궤양에 있어 초음파기기의 유용성

백롱민ㆍ허찬영ㆍ은석찬ㆍ김정윤ㆍ장 학ㆍ민경원

서울대학교 의과대학 성형외과학교실

The Availability of Ultrasound Device in Diabetic Foot Ulcer

Rong Min Baek, Chan Yeong Heo, Seok Chan Eun, Jung Yoon Kim, Hak Chang, Kyung Won Minn

Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Published online: 30 May 2007.

ABSTRACT

Chronic wound problems can develop after trauma, infection, cancer, radiation therapy, frostbite, animal bites, and immobility. They become more complex when the patient has underlying diabetes mellitus, peripheral vascular disease, autoimmune disease, neuropathy, steroid dependence, or venous stasis. Repetitive surgical debridement, revascularization when necessary, antibiotics, and dressings form the foundation of wound management. Despite considerable laboratory and clinical study, no single therapy has proved beneficial for all types of wounds. These wounds demand an aggressive and multifactorial approachs and several adjuvant treatment methods have been developed to stimulate healing further. Low-frequency ultrasonic debridement (LFUD) is a promising adjunct to wound care, which offers relatively painless debridement and bacterial biofilm destruction. We performed LFUD on 20 patients over 1.5 years, with a minimum follow-up of 3 months. Eleven of the wounds (55%) completely healed primarily, seven patients (35%) experienced a wound-size reduction of at least 50%. The remaining 2 patients (10%) underwent amputation. In conclusion, LFUD has had an favorable experience of diabetic foot wound treatment in our institution, so we introduced these novel technique with review of the literatues. (J Korean Wound Care Soc 2007;3:14-18)

Key Words: Ultrasound, Debridement, Wound healing