ankle burn wound sentanced to debridement

[frankenfoot]

in January I spilled a stock pot full of boiling water and a dozen eggs from the stove.  The inside of my ankle was the worst place as the socks and house slippers kind of stuck there.  

Two weeks ago my physician ordered a debridement because I had an eschar.  I was sent to the burn/wound center and turned over to a less than empathic wound expert who was none too ready to tear into my very sensitive hurt without an explanation, warning, or any kind of pre-picking procedure.  Is this common?  She refused to alleviate the pain..or address the intense pain she was causing....the wound was also dry (uncovered for one week) per regular md's instructions.

Is there any other way????  This debridement stuff seems AWEFUL...more painful than ANY other experience I HAVE EVER HAD!  including child birth, breaking bones, passing kidney stones...paying taxes....you get the idea.

My wound (when doctor pronounced the debridement) had shrunk from over 3 inch diameter to about 1.5  inch...it was doing better and improving in my opinion.

Are there times when (shARP OBJECT) debridement might bring more harm than good?  Pieces of the dead skin come off every time I change my wrappings.

Seems to me, I might need that scab.  The area on my ankle is not one of the fleshy places on my body where skin and fat are in ready supply...(ie thighs, rear, lower abdomen)...so if someone was a little unsteady with a scalpel...she might miss, or go to far, too deep and cut a tendon, like the achilles, or a piece of  essential connective tissue...holding my foot and leg together....this seems highly worrisome to me in possible accidents and the UNTHINKABLE GAWDAWEFU: STINKIN UNRELENTING PAIN!

Can debridement be a bad idea?  in some cases?  Is there a better way?

I was told to take it (the debridement) or go home and suffer worse potential fates from my disobiedience, lack of passivity, unquestioning, uncomplaining, death like response to some SERIOUS STINKIN PAIN!!!!  FROM A CLUMSY THOUGHTLESS HAND!!!!

I can include an early wound photo..if this would help the cause...but it is really really ugly ;p!


This discussion is related to Pus releasing Burn.

[raymo13]

I had a debridement on front of my shin from necrotizing fasciitis.After 3 skin grafts and the gapping hole,,,4x7....I had to go to my MD's office once a week for 6 months,and he pulled off the scabs and long flecks of deadish skin.He said it was to keep it from scarring.Except for the V where original flying steel that ripped the flesh open remains there is no other real scarring.I thought I was going to have a scar about the size of a large pork chop,but no.But also, the pain was like no other.And the addiction from the pain meds really messed me up almost more than the damn accident itself.

[windblown]

I wish someone had replied to you and I hope your ankle has healed up by now.  You didn't say what classification burn you had and I don't know if that makes a difference.

Last week I burned my ankle from scalding hot water.  I have about a 1.5 inch diameter second degree burn with surrounding area of 1st degree burn.  I was told to soak my burn every day in cool water, to clean it with soap, and to remove the dead tissue.  Afterwards I was to apply silvadene and a Tefla dressing.  I find that I can easily and painlessly remove the dead tissue after soaking.

It seems to me your regular mds instructions to keep your wound dry for 1 week may have been in error.  From what I have read, burns should be kept moist.  Keeping your burn covered with a dressing, or soaking it in water, would have prevented the eschar from forming.  Seems like your painful debridement could have been avoided.

What you were exposed to sounds barbaric.  I hope that is not the standard of medicine.  I searched on debridement and it sounds like there are less painful methods of cleaning out the dead tissue.