DEBRIDEMENT OF BURN WOUNDS WITH A SURGICAL ULTRASONIC ASPIRATOR

Ultrasonic ablation of tissue by the surgical ultrasonic aspirator (SU A) is an established technique in neurosurgery and hepatobiliary surge ry. We report the first use of SUA in the debridement of burn wound in three patients. Our initial experience suggested that SUA allows meti culous wound debridement and cleansing with minimal bleeding and destr uction of normal tissue and, therefore, is an extremely useful surgica l instrument to add to the armamentarium of the burn surgeon. (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd for ISBI.