The use of negative pressure therapy for the treatment Of lower-extremity wounds.

Background: lower extremity wounds with exposed bone, tendon or orthopedic hardware present a difficult treatment challenge. Objective: The purpose of this study is to assess the role of the vacuum assisted closure (VAC) therapy in the management of lower extremity wounds. Material and methods: A prospective analytic cohort study was conducted among 15 patient referred for reconstruction of lower extremity wounds. The study was conducted between January 2019 to June 2019. The wounds were inspected, surgical debridement was done if needed, and the VAC dressings were changed every 72 hours. Primary outcome was wound healing and granulation tissue formation. Secondary outcome was wound infection and wound size. Results: Vacuum- assisted closure therapy greatly decrease the surface area of the wound. Profuse granulation tissue formed rapidly, covering the bone and hardware. There was no statistically significant difference between the included patients regarding the pattern of wound infection pre and after negative pressure therapy (p=0.655). Results were both functionally and aesthetically satisfactory. Conclusion: VAC therapy appears to be a simple and more effective than conventional dressings for the management of difficult wound in terms of reduction in wound volume, depth, treatment duration and cost minimize the number of local and free-flap transfers.