VersaJet Hydrosurgery System: an effective device for flap deepithelialization.

Many instruments and techniques to reduce time and effort for deepithelialization have been described, but they are time-consuming and labor-intensive. The VersaJet Hydrosurgery System (Smith Nephew, Hull, United Kingdom) has gained widespread acceptance and use for fast, selective, and easy soft tissue debridement. The authors described the use of the VersaJet Hydrosurgery System for flap deepithelialization. Operative techniques, overall time, and histology are reviewed. Six gluteus maximus myocutaneous V-Y advancement flaps were used in 3 patients who underwent flap insetting with partial deepithelialization by VersaJet. The mean time savings was 12 minutes (range, 10-15 min). The flap deepithelialized by VersaJet shows significantly even and regular surface in gross view. In the histologic study, the thickness of preserved papillary dermis was thicker using the Versajet because it contains much skin appendages when compared with conventional scalpel debridement. No patients developed infection, epidermal cyst, or hematoma. The VersaJet provides safe, effective, and tissue-preserving deepithelialization compared with using scalpel.