Techniques for applying subatmospheric pressure dressing to wounds in difficult regions of anatomy

Abstract

Subatmospheric pressure dressing (SPD) has been commercially available in the United States since 1995 as the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) device. SPD increases local blood flow, decreases edema and bacterial count, and promotes the formation of granulation tissue. Despite recent clinical successes with the use of SPD in a variety of wound types, problems may occur with application of VAC system in certain areas of the body. The main limitation occurs when attempting to maintain an airtight seal over irregular surfaces surrounding a wound. For example, application of the adhesive drape and creation of a seal are particularly difficulty in the hip and perineum. In addition, wounds of the lower extremity can occur in multiple sites, posing the problem of providing a vacuum dressing to more than one wound from one suction pump machine. To address these challenging clinical wounds, we have developed techniques to allow the successful application of SPD to sacral pressure ulcers near the anus, and to multiple large lower extremity ulcers.