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Clinical Research
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Vacuum assisted closure* as an adjunct to compression bandaging for healing of venous stasis ulcers: a pilot study David Kieser, Justin Roake, David Lewis, Catherine Hammond, James Preddy, Christchurch School of Medicine, Canterbury, New Zealand Venous ulcers are a common problem managed in the community by application of compression bandages, but about 20-30% are refractory to this treatment. In these cases the ulcers require additional treatments to stimulate healing and they may remain unhealed for many months, consuming considerable community resources and health funding. Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) is an established wound management system that is used to assist with healing of wounds (including venous ulcers in some cases) often with dramatic improvement in healing rate. NPWT appears to work (in part) by removal of exudate and inflammatory mediators Ñ the former at least is a major problem in venous ulcer disease. The simultaneous combination of compression bandaging and NPWT has, until now, never been assessed. This pilot study aimed to test whether NPWT as a simultaneous adjunct to compression bandaging can promote healing of ulcers that are refractory to compression bandaging alone. While preliminary results show rapid granulation and initiation of healing, this novel research is continuing into January 2006 and thus results will only be available after this period *V.A.C., KCI USA, San Antonio, TX Venturi ML, Attinger CE, Mesbahi AN, Hess CL, Graw KS. Mechanisms and clinical applications of the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) device: a review. Am J Clin Dermatol. 2005;6(3):185Ð194 Eginton MT, Brown KR, Seabrook GR, Towne JB, Cambria RA. A prospective randomised evaluation of negative pressure wound dressings for diabetic foot wounds. Ann Vasc Surg. 2003;17(6):645Ð649 Loree S, Dompmartin A, Penven K, Harel D, Leroy D. Is vacuum assisted closure a valid technique for debriding chronic leg ulcers? J Wound Care. 2004;13(6):249Ð252. |
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