A Novel Technique of Vacuum-assisted Wound Closure
Contaminated midline abdominal wounds are often left open and allowed to close via secondary intention to prevent surgical site infections. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices have decreased time of healing by secondary intention when compared to the prior standard of moist dressings. The authors report a modification of NPWT that utilizes the unique characteristics of the negative pressure system to achieve delayed primary closure while preventing surgical site infections by continuously draining the wound effluent.

Contaminated midline abdominal wounds are often left open and allowed to close by secondary intention to prevent surgical site infections. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) devices have been shown to decrease time of healing by secondary intention when compared to the prior standard of moist dressings. A modification of NPWT that utilizes the unique characteristics of the NPWT system to achieve a delayed primary closure while preventing surgical site infections by continuously draining the wound effluent is presented.