Wound sterilisation: cautery vs CO2 laser.

Al-Qattan et al. (1989) demonstrated that for difficult infected surgical wounds the CO2 laser was a much more effective sterilising agent than a standard surgical scrub (P < 0.005). This study compares the effectiveness of a standard electrocautery unit against that of the CO2 laser for wound sterilisation. Cautery sterilisation of infected wounds was found to be significantly superior to that of the CO2 laser (P < 0.05). Infection was noted in 4% of the cautery sterilised wounds and 12% of the wounds treated with CO2 laser. Case reports are also presented to demonstrate the clinical applications and effectiveness of this technique.