Dr. Greg Paul Meisner II, DO

Debridement can be performed either surgically or nonsurgically; some methods are less invasive than others. Doctors select the appropriate debridement technique by considering the location, cause, and size of a patient's wound and may also weigh the patient's overall wellbeing, age, and risk of infection.

Surgical debridement is performed by cutting away dead, infected, and hyperkeratotic skin with a surgical scalpel. For deep wounds that tear away the skin and go into the muscle, skin from another region of a patient's body may be grafted onto the wound, which may then be periodically assessed and rebandaged until fully healed.

Non-surgical debridement is achieved with water or a dissolvent gel. Water softens the damaged skin and affected tissue, allowing doctors to remove it with wet-to-dry dressing. When wet tissue dries, it adheres to the dry dressing or bandage and comes off when the dressing is pulled away. In contrast, dissolvent gel deconstructs tissue, which can be cleaned off of the wound. Nonsurgical debridement is less invasive than surgical techniques; however, it can entail repeat treatments, slowing wound recovery.

While the prospect of stripping away skin may seem jarring, debridement can be critical to the treatment and healing of wounds which cannot not heal independently.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women. This includes coronary artery disease, heart attacks, congestive heart failure, and congenital heart disease. Some conditions, such as genetics, cannot be controlled. But there are many other things one can do to lower their risk for heart disease. Controlling high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, reducing or stopping smoking, exercising more and losing weight if needed, and eating a diet low in sodium can all protect the heart.

Angina is a squeezing type of chest pain that happens when the muscles around the heart don't get enough oxygen. It can be regular or infrequent. Usually, angina is caused by coronary heart disease. However, not all chest pain is angina. Chest pain can also be caused by a lung infection or panic attack, for example, so it is important to have any sudden pain checked.

Arrhythmia is the word for when the heart beats too fast, too slow, or irregularly with skipped beats. It can feel frightening, and depending on the type it can be dangerous, but in most cases arrhythmia is not serious and can be treated. It is very common, especially in older adults.

Heart valve problems can happen in any one of the the heart's four valves that keep blood flowing where it needs to go. Babies can be born with problems in their heart valves, or valves can be damaged by infections. The valves can stiffen and become less mobile, or they can stop closing properly and 'leak' when the heart beats. Valve problems can usually be repaired surgically.