Muhammad Naveed Shahzad, Naheed Ahmed.
Use of Steel Wool - A Novel Method to Debride the Second Degree Burns.
Ann Pak Inst Med Sci Jan ;9(2):78-82.

Objective: To find out effectiveness of steel wool debridement in second degree burns Study design: prospective study Place and duration of study: From January 2008 to December 2010, plastic surgery department, Nishtar Hospital Multan Materials and Methods: A total of 300 burn cases were admitted in burn unit / plastic surgery department, Nishtar Hospital Multan. During the study period all the details of patients regarding their Registration data, history, site of the burn, TBSA affected, degree of burn , depth of burn, presence or absence of slough in the wound, medical report, operative notes, pre and post operative photographs, duration of hospital stay and outcome were filed individually. All the data was analyzed using SPSS 11 software. Results: We included 63 patients who had partial thickness burns. 35 patients had superficial dermal burns and 28 had deep dermal burns. Out of 63 patients 36 were males and 27 were females. Their age ranged from 13 years to more than 65 years. (Table I) It can be best appreciated that majority of patients in our study were in the age range of 21-40 years. Conclusion: Steel wool dermabrasion removes the necrotic tissue and reduces the inflammatory response that helps in healing and prevents transition into deep thickness burns. It also reduces the septic load of the wound. Dermabrasion with the steel wool is effective, simple, and cost effective and it negates the need of grafting in many of the patients with partial thickness burns.

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