Closed Incision Negative Pressure Therapy Reduces Donor Site Complications in Head and Neck Reconstruction

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Surgical Oncology
• Wound Healing

Background:

• Head and neck reconstruction often involves complex flap harvest sites.
• Surgical wound complications can negatively impact patient outcomes.
• Closed incision negative pressure therapy (ciNPT) is a potential method to mitigate these complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of ciNPT in reducing complications at primarily closed flap harvest sites in head and neck reconstruction.
• To compare complication rates between patients who received ciNPT and those who did not.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 85 head and neck reconstruction patients (2021-2024).
• Patients divided into ciNPT (n=46) and non-ciNPT (n=39) groups.
• Assessment of postoperative complications (dehiscence, necrosis, SSIs, hematomas, seromas) within 30 days.
• Multivariate logistic regression to identify risk factors.

Main Results:

• Overall complication rate was 15.3% (13/85 patients).
• ciNPT group had significantly lower complication rates (4.3%) compared to the non-ciNPT group (28.2%).
• Non-ciNPT use was associated with a 7.9-fold increased risk of complications (adjusted OR: 7.942; p=0.011).
• Complications in the ciNPT group were minor seromas; non-ciNPT group experienced more severe issues.

Conclusions:

• ciNPT is associated with a lower incidence of complications at flap harvest sites in head and neck reconstruction.
• The findings suggest ciNPT can improve postoperative wound outcomes.
• Further randomized controlled trials are recommended to validate these results.