Purulent Skin and Soft Tissue Collections: Will a novel clinical approach bring an infected skin/soft tissue abscess to resolution compared with the traditional method of aggressive surgical intervention?

SPARC 2022 Poster Number 12

  

Skin, and soft tissue infections (SSTI’s) are a common complaint, accounting for 7% to 10% of all acute infective hospitalisations in the United Kingdom (Ki and Rostein., 2008). 

The historic SSTI surgical management practice of incision and drainage (Pastorino & Tavarez., 2021) has long been associated with chronic pain, poor wound healing, poor aesthetics, and prolonged recovery through painful packing of the resulting wound (Hammond et al., 2018; Hussain et al., 2012). Such invasive treatment often requires general anaesthesia, acute operating time, and surgical bed space at a substantial holistic cost to the NHS, including, an £8.3 billion wound care burden (Hayward et al., 2008; Guest et al,. 2020). During the Covid-19 pandemic, traditional management practices became increasingly challenging to maintain (Al-Jabir., 2020).

This research will design and develop an innovative medical device which will facilitate a new, minimal access SSTI treatment approach, under local anaesthetic, without the need for a large direct incision or wound packing. The device will allow for the removal of the infective source, SSTI cavity cleaning, and implantation of an innovative mode of action, through a small single access point. 

This novel practice will not require general anaesthetic, operating rooms, or admission to a surgical bed. The intended effects of the device will resolve infection, provide faster recovery times, and improve patient experiences of pain and aesthetic satisfaction.