"Homemade" negative pressure wound therapy: treatment of complex wounds under challenging conditions

Background. Complex wounds pose a challenge to the surgeons regarding coverage and reconstruction. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has become a widely accepted technology for managing such wounds. Despite the case reports suggesting excellent outcomes of commercially available NPWT systems, there is paucity of randomized, controlled trials. Homemade alternatives can be of great use in hospitals with limited resources if they are found to be effective for managing complex wounds.

To determine the effectiveness of "homemade" NPWT for coverage of challenging and difficult wounds of different regions of the body with limited options for reconstruction.

Forty-four patients with 51 complex wounds involving different parts of body were included in the study. After initial debridement, the patients were treated with NPWT to obtain a healthy granulating wound bed that could be covered with simple reconstruction (ie, skin graft).

The average number of dressing changes was 2.9 and the average duration from start of therapy until the wound was ready for coverage was 13 days. Forty-seven wounds were skin grafted and 3 wounds were covered with local turnover flaps. One post sternotomy wound healed by secondary intention.

This simple "homemade" NPWT system is an effective technique for treating challenging wounds on various parts of the body. .