Effectiveness of Vacuum-assisted closure of a wound in a Tertiary Care Hospital

Volume : VII, Issue : VII, July - 2018

Dr Amita Jain, Dr Madhav Madhusudan Singh

Introduction: Delayed wound healing causes significant health problem, particularly in older and immune–compromised adults. In addition to the

pain and suffering, failure of the wound to heal also imposes social cost. Vacuum–assisted closure (VAC) therapy incorporates the use of negative

pressure to optimise conditions for wound healing and requires fewer painful dressing changes and outcome is more better.

Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective study. Scheduled elective wound closure procedures were reviewed from May 2017 to April

2018.

Results: Out of 82 scheduled wound closure surgeries, 55 ( 68 %) were done by Vacuum–assisted closure (VAC) therapy. The study revealed the for

management of pressure sores and ulcers, Significant difference could be detected between VAC and use of traditional gauze dressings. Wound

managed with VAC significantly decreased by 31 % in surface area as opposed to those managed with saline–moistened gauze, which increased by

10.5% (p=0.004). VAC therapy appeared to be more effective than Opsite and bolster dressings in skin graft management. Patients managed with

VAC had increased rate of reepithelialisation and fewer patients required repeat split thickness skin graft to the same site. VAC was more effective

at treating various chronic and complex wounds than WM gauze, as there was a significantly greater reduction in wound volume, depth and

treatment duration.

Conclusions: VAC is a good , more promising , simple to use and appears to be a promising alternative for the management of various wound types.