Retrospective study of negative pressure wound therapy promoting survival of the skin grafts

Abstract

Objective To observe the effects of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on survival of the blade-thickness free skin grafts. Methods Sixty-five patients with skin defects were divided into NPWT treatment group ( Group Ⅰ,n =35) and conventional treatment group ( Group Ⅱ,n =30) according to different postoperative fixation methods.The patients in Group Ⅰ were fixed with the aid of NPWT after blade-thickness free skin grafting,and the patients in Group Ⅱ were fixed with tie-over bolster dressing. Results The survival rate of the skin grafts of Group Ⅰ was significantly higher than that of Group Ⅱ at day5 postoperatively [ (80.59 ±10.30)％ vs (71.46 ±10.68)％,P＜0.05].The survival period for the skin grafts of Group Ⅰ was shorter than that of Group Ⅱ[ (5.34 ± 0.87) days vs ( 11.20 ± 1.65) days,P ＜ 0.01].The duration of postoperative hospital stay of Group Ⅰ was obviously shorter than that of Group Ⅱ (P ＜ 0.01 ).The cost of antibiotics of Group Ⅰ was less than that of Group Ⅱ [ ( 1 765.71 ± 164.39) RMB yuan vs (2 700.00 ±221.28) RMB yuan,P ＜0.01].The dressing frequency and cost of group Ⅰ were less than those of group Ⅱ [(3.11 ± 0.32) times,(249.14 ±25.82) RMB yuan vs (4.53 ±0.68) times,(362.67 ±54.52) RMB yuan,P＜0.01]. Conclusions The application of NPWT to the postoperative period of skin grafting can promote the survival of the skin grafts,shorten the duration of hospitalization and reduce antibiotics use and dressing frequency. Key words: Surgical flaps; Transplantation; Negative pressure wound therapy