Polyester mesh dressings reduce delayed wound healing rates after total hip arthroplasty compared with...

New dressings purport to reduce surgical wound complications after total hip arthroplasty (THA). This study compared delayed wound healing rates and reoperations between 2 increasingly popular dressings: a silver-impregnated occlusive (standard) dressing and a 2-octyl cyanoacrylate adhesive with polyester mesh.

This retrospective cohort study reviewed 431 consecutive THAs performed by 2 surgeons between January 2017 and May 2019. One hundred and eight were excluded for not using standard or mesh dressings. A final 323 cases were separated into 2 cohorts: mesh (n = 186) and standard dressings (n = 137). Standard dressings were removed at 1 week. Mesh persisted until nonadherent, approximately 3-4 weeks. The surgeon assessed delayed wound healing at the 2-week postoperative visit. Secondary outcomes include deep infection and return to the operating room for a wound-related diagnosis. Differences were determined using the chi-square test.

There were no demographic, comorbidity, or surgical differences between groups. There were 22 total cases of delayed wound healing with 7 (3.8%) in the mesh group and 15 (10.9%) in the standard dressing group (P = .01). There were no significant differences in reoperations (2 [1.1%] vs 2 [1.5%], P = .76) or deep infections (2 [1.1%] vs 1 [0.7%], P = .75).

Mesh dressings are a safe and reliable dressing type for THA and were associated with a decrease in early wound healing complications when compared with standard, silver-impregnated occlusive dressings in this retrospective series. The mesh tension sharing properties and longer duration of occlusive protection may explain this difference.

Level III.