I came across this term when speaking to a gentleman around a pressure ulcer he had on his foot. He told me that the plug in his pressure ulcer had to be removed as it was infected due to dead skin cells.

Can anyone give me a definition of what a 'plug' is and what it is used for?

Many thanks

Hi,

He's most probably just refering to the build up of dead tissue.

When conservative treatment doesn’t heal pressure sores, a doctor might suggest surgical intervention. This varies from mild surgery to extensive surgery, depending on the severity of a pressure sore.

Mild surgery usually means debridement, which means damaged, dead or infected skin tissue is removed from the pressure sore wound using a scalpel.

This is a quick and effective procedure, but it tends to be painful – a doctor might prefer to try non-surgical ways instead.

Non-surgical ways include mechanical debridement, which means using a high- pressure irrigation device to remove the dead skin tissue.

Another approach is autolytic debridement, using the body’s own enzymes to break down tissue, or enzymatic debridement – putting debriding enzymes on the skin to break down tissue.

Regards

Simon