The WoundWand and Its Novel Use in Burn Excision Surgery

OBJECTIVE The authors present the novel use of a new generation surgical ablative tool known as the WoundWand. METHODS A 66-year-old woman presented with 18% deep-dermal and full-thickness burns affecting the left side of her body including the total left upper limb, abdomen, and left thigh following lighting a cigarette in bed while on home oxygen therapy. She underwent tangential excision of burn using the WoundWand with immediate reconstruction using split skin grafts and topical negative pressure therapy. RESULTS We found that we were able to easily tangentially excise the hard eschar from delicate areas such as the hand and fingers using the WoundWand. DISCUSSION The authors conclude that the novel use of this device particularly in delicate areas such as dorsum of fingers and hand has some advantages over preexisting methods. Further clinical study may add to the surgical armamentarium of the burns surgeon.