Healing Peristomal Wounds Around Retracted Stomas with Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy: A Case Series

One method for treating a retracted stoma is a vacuum dressing that cleans the wound and protects against intestinal leakage. This case series describes the use of an integrated, single-use negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) dressing to treat retracted stomas as an alternative to other noninvasive remedies. The report includes seven patients who were hospitalized in the authors' surgical department from 2019 to 2020. All patients developed severe peristomal infection that failed to respond to local treatment with proper ostomy appliances or specialist dressings. After cleaning each wound and removing necrotic lesions, the authors applied a single-use hydrofiber NPWT dressing to each patient. The dressing was changed every 2 to 5 days, depending on the effects of the therapy. The stoma orifice was covered with a bag with two-piece ostomy systems. The peristomal wound healed in all cases, and leakage was eliminated. The mean time of treatment was 14 days (range, 10-21 days), and the vacuum dressings were changed an average of four times (range, 3-7 times). None of the patients required a stoma translocation or other additional surgery. Three patients received systemic IV antibiotic therapy to treat general infection. Single-use NPWT dressings protect peristomal wounds from bowel leakage and do not hinder the application of stoma bags. This system, similar to standard NPWT devices, effectively protects infected stomas from retraction.