CO2 laser in decubitus ulcers: a comparative study.

This is a comparative study of conventional surgery (knife/electric knife) and CO2 laser surgery and their effect on the outcome of stage III (including muscle) and stage IV (including bone) decubitus ulcers with an average area of 400 cm2. It is a prospective clinical study done with two groups of patients of similar age, economic and social background, as well with similar types of decubitus ulcers. Thirty patients were studied in each group. The study demonstrated a statistically significant difference in favor of the patients treated with CO2 laser with regard to operative blood loss, 0.5 cc/cm2 or 20% (P less than .01), infection rate (chi 2 test, P less than .01), and difference (60%) in recovery time (P less than .01). This translated into an average saving of 23 hospitalization days per patient. It also showed a difference, though not statistically significant, favoring the group treated with laser with respect to survival and full recovery. This probably is attributable to the lowered blood loss and infection rate as well as improved operative time and analgesia.