Ostomy/wound management
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Ostomy/wound management · Jun 2009
Case ReportsUsing low pressure, NPWT for wound preparation & the management of split-thickness skin grafts in 3 patients with complex wound.
The use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is well established in the management of hard-to-heal wounds. One institution, familiar with NPWT's capabilities as well as its shortcomings (eg, pain at dressing changes and pain with the maximum recommended setting of 125 mm Hg), sought a viable alternative. A low pressure, negative pressure wound therapy (LP-NPWT) system, using subatmospheric pressure levels of 75 mm Hg and a low-adherence dressing, was evaluated to prepare the wound bed for split-thickness skin graft (STSG) on three patients. ⋯ In all cases, STSGs, followed by 4 days of LP-NPWT were applied and all wounds healed. The results from these three cases suggest that the LP-NPWT system is a useful healing adjunct for complex wound bed preparation and graft management. Clinical studies to quantify the effects of LP-NPWT technology and compare its safety and efficacy to other negative pressure systems are needed.