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Background and objective. Success in the integration of partial thickness skin grafts does not depend on a single factor; one of the most important factors is the healing method performed on the skin graft. For this reason, the objective of our study is to demonstrate the percentage of integration through a digital computer program of the partial thickness skin grafts that underwent occlusive healing with the use of the negative pressure system. Methods. Retrospective descriptive study. All patients with coverage defects, who had a wound with optimal granulation tissue to perform the partial thickness skin graft, were taken as a sample in the Plastic Surgery Service of the Reina Catalina Clinic in Barranquilla and Baranoa in Colombia, from January 1, 2019 to December 31 of the same year. For this, the WoundPro® negative pressure system (©2020 Pensar Medical, LLC) was used and the integration of the grafts was digitally quantified throug an image processing program (ImageJ®) complemented with a computerized developer of the Systems Area of the Clinic to obtain a mathematical result that would allow, more objectively, to evaluate the integration of the graft. Results. Seventy patients were part of the study, the male gender was the most affected with 42 cases, the average age was 41.8 years. The most common etiology was burn (34%), the anatomical area with the highest incidence was the leg (27.7%) and the percentage integration average was 98.4%. The negative pressure system was applied for 6 days, then it was removed and the photographic record was made; that image was used to calculate the integration. After the first cure, the patient was discharged and follow-up was performed on an outpatient basis, with a healing average of the grafted area of 17 days. Conclusions. In our experience, the use of the negative pressure system as an occlusive healing method in partial skin grafts has represented success rates greater than 98% in the integration of the grafts, which translates into a cost-effective treatment since it reduces the complications inherent to this procedure. Likewise, the mathematical calculation of the graft integration makes possible the specific evaluation and definition of the behavior in each case. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The brown recluse spider bite can cause an enlarging necrotic skin wound, traditionally treated with expectant management, anti-inflammatory drugs and late reconstructive surgery. In this paper we report 2 cases where we used Vacuum-Assisted Closure therapy (VAC®) for the successful management of these wounds. We believe that VAC® therapy is very effective in reducing wound size and skin necrosis, and also in accelerating patient recovery time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Split thickness autografts are the gold standard for wound coverage. However, scars and retractions are frequent after skin grafts, and would be severe over special regions. Different authors avoid these complications using a dermal substitute interposed between the wound and the skin graft in the first surgical time. A prospective study was designed to evaluate the split thickness skin graft uptake time over a monolayer matrix, with and without a vacuum assisted therapy device (VAC®). Twenty patients with a full thickness wound over a special region were randomized between 2 groups. Epidemiological data and wound etiology (acute burn, burn sequelae or donor site after a fasciocutaneous flap raised) were collected. Matriderm ® (mono layer dermal substitute) and a split thickness skin graft was applied over 10 cases (Group I). The dressing was changed after 7 days, and every 3-4 days until the skin graft was uptake and stable. Another 10 cases were treated with the same surgical strategy (Group II). After surgery, a vacuum assisted therapy device (VAC®) was applied until the graft was uptake. The skin graft evaluation was done by a blind observer. All complications were reported until 3 months after the skin graft was stable. The homogeneity between groups was assessed. Averaged uptake time was 17, 6 ± 8 days, and the total complication rate was 20%. Statistically differences were not found between the 2 groups for the complication rate. The uptake time was 21,4 ± 9 days in the Group I and 13,9 ± 4 days in the Group II. These differences was statically significative. As a conclusion, the use of monolayer dermal substitutes is safe, with skin graft uptake rate of 85%. Time for skin graft uptake over a monolayer dermal matrix is shorter using a VAC ® device over the skin graft, with similar complication rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vacuum therapy has shown to be useful and effective in different types of wounds. Its use is common in the Plastic Surgery Departments and it is a very important tool in the acute and chronic wounds management; it achieves the healing of the wounds or it gives an adequate bed for the posterior coverage. We report our experience in the use of vacuum therapy Renasys® (Smith&Nephew, Spain) in the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Department in La Fe University Hospital, Valencia (Spain) in the last year, showing the utility of vacuum therapy in different etiology and types of wounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The open fractures of the lower limb caused by high energy trauma, poses a major surgical challenge. These wounds have a significative complexity, with multiple lesions involving bone, muscle, nerves, vessels, skin and subcutaneous tissues. There are a wide spectrum of reconstructive options for the treatment, most of them requiring complex microsurgical transfers of autologous tissue. The Vacuum Assisted Therapy (VAC®) has become a most useful tool for the plastic surgeon since the last century's 90 decade. Based in the application of negative pressure to the wound bed, promotes healing by granulation tissue formation, keeping the wound clean and avoiding bacterial colonization. Used as a primary method or in combination with others, VAC® therapy allows more conservative options in the treatment of these wounds, lowering the incidence of complications and avoiding the need of demanding and high cost surgical interventions. We describe the application of the VAC® therapy in a clinical case with complex lower limb open fracture and crush injury, showing its efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treatment of complex wounds that imply loss of substance or important anatomic structures exposure has a great relevance in Plastic Surgery Departments nowadays. Even though surgical debridement keeps on being the principal choice treatment in infected or necrotic wounds, VAC® therapy use and its new technology advances in the last decade, has allowed an option to control bacterial colonization, exudates and surgical wounds. We present 9 cases of vacuum therapy use for treatment of different pathologies such as sternum dehiscence, burned patients, extremities trauma, etc. In all these cases vacuum therapy has been essential in the management of exudates, protection of anatomic vital structures as well as to improve patient's quality of life during hospital stay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]