Purpose.

The aim of this study was to assess the outcome of the Versajet Hydrosurgery system in the treatment of Gustilo and Anderson grade III A and III B open tibial fractures using a pilot scale prospective randomised controlled trial against conventional surgery. The primary variable was the total number of debridements until wound closure.

Results.

A total of 40 patients were recruited: 16 patients had Versajet Plus (Smith & Nephew) hydrosurgery and 24 patients standard surgical debridement. Baseline characteristics were well balanced with respect to the age, mechanism of injury, contamination, wound area, depth, and displacement of the bone. There was some imbalance between treatment groups where more (68.8%) Versajet patients had III A classification; vs. (37.5%) standard surgical debridement patients.

The numbers of debridement procedures before wound closure for Versajet were: 1 debridement procedure for 11 patients (69%), 2 for 3 patients (19%) and 3 for 2 patients (12.5%). For standard surgical patients: 1 debridement procedure for 1 patient (4.3%), 2 for 19 patients (83%) and 3 for 3 patients (13%). There was significant evidence (p<0.001) that Versajet patients required fewer debridement procedures than standard surgical debridement prior to wound closure (ratio Standard: Versajet = 1.747:1). There was no evidence that the number of debridement procedures to achieve wound closure differed between the Gustilo and Anderson grade IIIA and grade IIIB classifications (p=0.692). The median time to wound closure was 3 days (95% CI 3 days, 5 days) for Versajet and 5 days (95% CI 4 days, 8 days) for standard surgically debrided wounds, but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.275). There was no evidence (p=0.397) of a difference in the total number of surgical sessions (debridement or debridement with closure) required to close the wound (ratio Standard: Versajet = 1.040; 95% CI (0.950, 1.137). There were no instances of post-operative infection.