This treatment cleanses thickened, infected skin of foreign debris by surgically removing the callused area with a scalpel, thus allowing the operator to clearly view the wound and properly disinfect the surrounding area. The wound is then probed gently with a metal instrument, determining its depth and the possible presence of foreign material. Lastly, the infected area is washed and dressed properly. Aside from removing dead and infected tissues, surgical debridement helps eliminate bacterial overgrowth and other diseases, which could lead to amputation.

There are instances in which patients suffer from complex, thick wounds that are difficult to heal due to the depth of the sustained injury. The introduction of skin substitution, or skin grafting, serves as a temporary coverage for such wounds. Once this skin graft is introduced to the affected area, chemical bonding occurs leading to treatment.

The body is exposed to 100% oxygen at a greater pressure than normal during HBOT, thus increasing the rate of healing. Individual-person hyperbaric oxygen therapy utilizes units designed for one person where the patient lies down on a sliding table which moves into a 7-foot long transparent plastic tube. This treatment procedure typically lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours, and the frequency of treatment is dependent on the variation of the wound and its response to therapy.

Using a local anesthetic (such as lidocaine) to numb the area around the abscess so you don’t feel pain, a physician then inserts a scalpel or needle into the skin over the pus and the pus is drained. Some abscesses have more than one pocket of pus that must be ruptured to release all of the infected material. After the pus has drained, the wound will be cleaned and rinsed with saline solution.