Dehisced Wound Healing Outcomes with Use of Mechanically Powered Disposable Negative Pressure Wound Therapy

BACKGROUND: Despite advances in perioperative care, operative technique, and understanding of risk factors, wound dehiscence remains a national health care quality concern such that it is one of the publicly reported outcome measures for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Early identification and appropriate management of wound dehiscence is key to reducing treatment costs. Standard of care includes debridement and regular cleansing/irrigation as needed, administration of culture-specific antimicrobials and/or antibiotics, protection of periwound tissue, and application of an appropriate dressing or therapy. Use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) to help manage dehisced wounds has been reported in numerous studies with promising results. Patients with smaller, low-exudating dehisced wounds may benefit from ultraportable, mechanically powered disposable negative pressure wound therapy (dNPWT) that may allow a quick return to activities of daily living while receiving the effects of NPWT. 

OBJECTIVE: A retrospective data analysis was performed to determine outcomes of 4 patients with dehisced wounds that were adjunctively treated with dNPWT. 

MATERIALS AND METHODS/RESULTS: The average age of patients was 63 years old. Patients had undergone total knee arthroplasty, cyst removal, ankle open reduction internal fixation, or abdominoplasty prior to dehiscence. All wounds were debrided prior to dNPWT, and systemic antibiotics were administered in 2 of 4 patients. Disposable NPWT was applied to each wound with a foam dressing at -125 mm Hg and changed twice weekly. One wound was primarily closed after 90 days of dNPWT, and the remaining 3 healed via secondary intention after 41, 95, and 150 days of dNPWT. 

CONCLUSIONS: Mechanically powered dNPWT was a convenient adjunctive therapy and resulted in positive outcomes for these 4 patients with dehisced wounds.

CITATION
Speyrer M, Thibodeaux KT. Dehisced wound healing outcomes with use of mechanically powered disposable negative pressure wound therapy. Poster presented at: Symposium on Advanced Wound Care Fall; November 2-4, 2018; Las Vegas, NV.

Product: SNAP Therapy System (KCI, an Acelity Company, San Antonio, TX)

This abstract was not subject to the WOUNDS peer-review process.