Closed-incision negative-pressure wound therapy enhances recovery of patients following surgery, including mastectomy and breast reconstruction, says Constance Chen MD, a New York City-based, board-certified plastic surgeon, in a media release.
“Negative-pressure therapy takes the tension off of the wound to prevent incisions from coming apart. In addition, since the wound is hermetically sealed, it reduces the risk of wound infection since bacteria are unable to reach the wound,” Chen adds, in a media release from MCPR LLC.
A negative-pressure system consists of a sponge dressing on a surgical wound site that is connected by tubing to a canister that suctions out all the fluid and bacteria from the wound to protect the area from external infection. Negative-pressure wound therapy was first used on open wounds like diabetic wounds and pressure ulcers, traumatic injuries and burns, with significant improvement in wound healing.
The latest research has determined that the use of negative pressure therapy for closed incisions following postmastectomy breast reconstruction results in removal of patient drains in a shorter amount of time with significantly lower rates of infection, fluid buildup in the wound, recurring bleeding and dehiscence (healing failure) when compared to standard care methods, the release explains.
In August 2018, a study published in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) analyzed over 350 patients who had undergone mastectomy with immediate or delayed expander-implant reconstruction. About half the patients studied were given negative-pressure therapy.
According to the study, patients given negative-pressure therapy were found to have significantly improved wound-healing rates and reductions in complications compared to patients receiving standard wound care for their surgical incisions.
A June 2018 PRS study found that closed-incision negative-pressure therapy in oncological breast surgery was a “well-tolerated, adaptable, and reliable dressing capable of reducing postsurgical complications and improving scar outcomes in patients presenting with high risk factors.”
Another 2018 study determined that negative pressure systems significantly reduce wound infections and complications in patients undergoing reduction mammaplasty.
In 2016, a study in the British Journal of Surgery examined cases of 229 breast-reconstruction patients, about 23% of whom developed wound complications and 19%, wound infections. The study suggests that the risk of breast cancer recurrence was 4.6 times higher in women who develop wound complications following breast reconstruction and more than six times greater in women whose wound becomes infected.
“Today, negative-pressure therapy is improving wound care for a growing number of patients, including mastectomy patients who opt for breast reconstruction,” Chen states, in the release.
[Source(s): MCPR LLC, PRWeb]
