Term Of The Day – Debridement
The Debridement is the medical removal of dead, damaged, or infected tissue to improve the healing potential of the remaining healthy tissue..Most of you are probably wondering how this can be considered a workers comp term, but it is a great example of the types of medical injuries claimed by employees in workers compensation.
We are currently working on a case in which a truck driver missed a step and fell, suffering a tibial fracture. The injury resulted in dead muscle in his leg and gangrene. Debridement, which The Free Dictionary defines as “surgical removal of foreign material and dead tissue from a wound in order to prevent infection and promote healing” then became key to the man keeping his leg.
Burn patients always report this procedure as the most painful they have ever faced in their life. Burns need to be debrided or they can become rapidly infected.
The procedure can be found on this webpage.
While not pleasant, it shows the utmost importance of workers safety and the extreme problems that workers and employers will face if precautions and plans of actions are not in place.
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