Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Applied to a Meshed Split-Thickness Skin Graft

Lee, Dong Hun; Kim, Yu Jin

Abstract

PURPOSE
Skin grafting is used for the transfer of cutaneous tissue from one site of the body to another. To improve graft survival, close contact between the graft and the wound bed is essential for vessels to grow across the gap. Here, we introduce an easy and efficient dressing method to improve graft survival.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
A retrospective chart review was performed to identify patients who underwent split thickness skin graft and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) or conventional treatment between January 2007 and April 2015. Overall, 25 consecutive patients were included in the NPWT group and 49 were included in the conventional dressing group to compare the outcome of the procedure. The data were obtained from medical records, including age, sex, cause of the skin defect, size of graft, time for healing, wound preparation time, and complications.
RESULTS
Of the NPWT group, the average wound size was 147.04±146.74 cm2 (range, 9~900 cm²). With the exception of one patient, all wounds healed without the need for further procedure. The average duration of time required for the NPWT group, which was defined as removal of stitches (or staples) and no need for additional active dressing, was 6.4±1.97 days (range, 5~15 days). The average time for the conventional dressing group was 10.78±2.38 days (range, 5~15 days).
CONCLUSION
NPWT can be used to cover regions in which wound healing does not occur fully or when neither tie-over nor compressive dressings are applicable. This treatment also reduced wound healing time and allowed earlier patient mobilization and hospital discharge.