Conservative sharp wound debridement

Sharp wound debridement facilitates selective removal of dead tissue using sharp, sterile instruments (eg scalpel, scissors, curette).

Conservative sharp debridement can be performed at the bedside. An anaesthetic agent may not be required because the margin of necrotic tissue is not exceeded. However, topical anaesthetics may be needed for cleansing or dressing removal before debridement.

More extensive sharp debridement exposes healthy tissue and requires topical local anaesthetic agents (eg eutectic mixture of local anaesthetics [EMLA 5%], lidocaine).

Although this method has similar risks to surgical debridement, the magnitude of the risk is smaller.