Vacuum-assisted wound closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction for open abdomen therapy - a systematic review

The aim of this paper was to review the literature on vacuum-assisted wound closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction (VAWCM) in open abdomen therapy. It was designed as systematic review of observational studies.

A Pub Med, EMBASE and Cochrane search from 2007/01-2016/07 was performed combining the Medical Subject Headings "vacuum", "mesh-mediated fascial traction", "temporary abdominal closure", "delayed abdominal closure", "open abdomen", "abdominal compartment syndrome", "negative pressure wound therapy" or "vacuum assisted wound closure".

Eleven original studies were found including patients numbering from 7 to 111. Six studies were prospective and five were retrospective. Nine studies were on mixed surgical (n = 9), vascular (n = 6) and trauma (n = 6) patients, while two were exclusively on vascular patients. The primary fascial closure rate per protocol varied from 80-100%. The time to closure of the open abdomen varied between 9-32 days. The entero-atmospheric fistula rate varied from 0-10.0%. The in-hospital survival rate varied from 57-100%. In the largest prospective study, the incisional hernia rate among survivors at 63 months of median follow-up was 54% (27/50), and 16 (33%) repairs out of 48 incisional hernias were performed throughout the study period. The study patients reported lower short form health survey (SF-36) scores than the mean reference population, mainly dependent on the prevalence of major co-morbidities. There was no difference in SF-36 scores or a modified ventral hernia pain questionnaire (VHPQ) at 5 years of follow up between those with versus those without incisional hernias.

A high primary fascial closure rate can be achieved with the vacuum-assisted wound closure and meshmediated fascial traction technique in elderly, mainly non-trauma patients, in need of prolonged open abdomen therapy.