title: Effect of radiofrequency ablation on healing of infected full-thickness wounds in minipigs.
abstract: The success of debridement is critical to optimize the treatment outcomes of traumatic wounds. To investigate the impact of radiofrequency ablation on healing potential of infected wounds, minipigs with infected full-thickness skin defects on backs were divided into 4 treatment groups randomly: radiofrequency ablation debridement, electric knife debridement, sharp instrument debridement, and no treatment. The healing rate, healing time, tissue filling rate, bacterial quantitative, and histological assay were evaluated postoperatively. The results obtained provide evidence that the wounds after radiofrequency ablation treatment enhanced the skin wound-healing efficacy and had better outcomes of tissue filling compared with other debridement therapies. Furthermore, we quantified the bacterial counting level in wound samples, and the results revealed a more significant decreasing trend in radiofrequency ablation group than that of the electric knife debridement group and the sharp instrument debridement group. Postoperative histological measurements showed that there were better granulation formation and re-epithelialization and collagen deposition in radiofrequency ablation-treated wounds than those in other groups. The present findings demonstrate that radiofrequency ablation has a significantly influence on reducing the number of bacteria and improving the healing quality and is a promising candidate for treatment of infected wounds.
authors.affiliation: 1The First Affiliated Hospital of the General Hospital of PLA, Beijing, Peoples Republic of China.
authors.forename: Rungong
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Tantan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zuo
authors.forename: Jialiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hongbin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhong
authors.forename: Kejian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Shuxun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hou
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D058491:Bacterial Load / Q000379:methods; D017115:Catheter Ablation / Q000379:methods*; D003646:Debridement / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D013552:Swine; D013556:Swine, Miniature; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: debridement; infection; radiofrequency ablation; wound healing