High-voltage, pulsed electrical stimulation is an effective adjunct to multidisciplinary attempts at limb salvage in diabetic patients with complex lower extremity wounds, results from a small study demonstrated.
Of 45 wounds in 30 patients, 78% of the wounds healed in a mean of 14 weeks using the electrical stimulation system, Dr. Jeremy J. Burdge reported at the annual meeting of the Wound Healing Society. Dr. Burdge, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon who practices in Columbus, Ohio, and his associates evaluated the efficacy of high-voltage electrical stimulation in patients who failed to improve despite multidisciplinary treatment approaches. More than half (57%) of the patients in the study were men; their mean age was 66 years. The mean age of wounds was 25 weeks, and the mean surface area was 7.8 cm
Dr. Burdge had no conflicts to disclose.
—Doug Brunk