A study investigates the efficacy of CO2 laser debridement in treating chronic wounds compared to traditional surgical debridement
Wausau, WI (July 15, 2020) – Chronic wound repair can be a major problem in wound treatment. Recently, several studies have suggested that carbon dioxide (CO2) laser can be used to improve the healing of chronic wounds. This study investigates the efficacy of laser debridement to treat chronic wounds using a comparison of traditional surgical debridement and ultrapulsed CO2 laser debridement.
This clinical report, published in Lasers in Surgery and Medicine (LSM), the official journal of the American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS), was selected as the July 2020 Editor’s Choice.
The study, led by Hong Yan, MD, is titled “Evaluation of the Efficacy of Ultrapulsed CO2 Laser in Chronic Wounds.”
Forty-seven patients with chronic wounds were randomly divided into two groups: traditional sharp instrument debridement versus ultrapulsed CO2 laser debridement. The wound healing rate and the total time to achieve healing were significantly better in the laser group versus the control group.
“Our study found the ultrapulsed CO2 laser can more effectively decrease wound infection rate, promote an increase in wound blood perfusion, and achieve faster wound healing in the treatment of chronic refractory wounds compared with the traditional sharp instrument/surgical debridement,” said Yan.
Hong Yan, MD is director of plastic and burn surgery at the Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical University, China. Dr. Yan specializes in scar plastic surgery, complex wound defect repair and reconstruction, severe burn treatment, burn rehabilitation, medical cosmetology, and other aspects of clinical work.
Editor’s Choice is an exclusive article published in LSM, the official journal of the ASLMS. View the complete manuscript.
The American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, Inc. (ASLMS) is the largest multidisciplinary professional organization dedicated to the development and application of lasers and related technology for health care applications. ASLMS promotes excellence in patient care by advancing biomedical application of lasers and other related technologies worldwide. ASLMS membership includes physicians, surgeons, nurses and allied health professionals representing multiple specialties, physicists involved in product development, biomedical engineers, biologists, industry representatives and manufacturers. For more information, visit aslms.org.