Prospective Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing Versajet Hydrosurgery Debridement and Conventional Debridement in Paediatric Burns Patients

The Versajet Hydrosurgery System is a tool that provides a high-pressure water jet capable of cutting tissue. It uses a high velocity sterile saline jet to cut/ debride the tissues and then draws tissue and fluid into a chamber via the Venturi effect created by the saline jet. This focused water jet passes parallel to the wound and is captured by an evacuator port which is located 8mm or 14mm from the nozzle. This jet of pressurised saline functions like a knife and the handpiece allows debridement and aspiration of debris to occur simultaneously. The Versajet system is currently utilised across many burns centres and at the Children’s Hospital at Westmead by the majority of burns surgeons and is considered a standard practice in selected cases. However, current literature regarding its clinical effectiveness (compared to the conventional tangential method of debridement using sharp excision) is scarce. The duration of debridement is dependent on the size (and depth) of the burn - approximately 10mins in burns of less than 5% TBSA. Some surgeons report that Versajet debridement is faster than conventional tangential excision in areas that are difficult to debride such as the hands, feet or perineum.