Clinical Efficacy of Vacuum Sealing Drainage in Treating Traumatic Chronic Osteomyelitis

Objective To evaluate the clinical efficacy of vacuum sealing drainage(VSD) in managing traumatic chronic osteomyelitis.Methods Between June 2006 and August 2009,13 patients with a lot of purulent exudates after traumatic chronic osteomyelitis were treated in our hospital.There were nine males and four females with their ages ranged from 8 to 56 years old,averaging at 34.Among these cases of traumatic chronic osteomyelitis,nine occurred after operation for open tibial fractures and one occurred after operation for open fibula fracture caused by traffic accident;two occurred after operation for open calcaneal fracture and one occurred after operation for femur fracture caused by falling.The course of the disease ranged from 11 to 35 months.After the focus of infection was debrided completely,they were treated with VSD.As soon as the wound surface was clear and the bone surface was covered with granulation tissue,eight patients were treated with secondary suture,four were treated with local skin flap transplantation or musculocutaneous flap transplantation,and one was treated with free latissimus dorsi musculo-cutaneous flap.Results The exudates in and the area of the wound were both decreased after VSD procedure on the wound for an average of 18 days and replacing the VSD for an average of 2.1 times.The wound was covered by second suture or flap transplantation.After a follow-up of 6-31 months,all 13 cases of traumatic chronic osteomyelitis were healed with no recurrence.Conclusion Application of VSD in treating traumatic chronic osteomyelitis can drain thoroughly,control inflammation faster,promote granulation tissue,and decrease the rate of recurrence.