VAC therapy in children

BACKGROUND: Integra artificial skin (Integra) (Integra Life Sciences Corporation, Plainsboro, NJ) is increasingly used as a skin substitute in reconstructive surgery. However, reliable fixation to the wound bed, a factor of paramount importance for successful application, is often hard to achieve. The vacuum-assisted closure system (VAC; KCI, Switzerland), a well-established subatmospheric pressure device, might be of interest to overcome these problems because of its ability to conform to almost any surface...

INTRODUCTION: Delayed sternal closure after paediatric open heart procedure is often necessary. The risk of delayed sternal closure is infection: superficial wound or sternal and mediastinal infection. The incidence of sternal wound infection reported in the literature varies from 0.5 to 10%. The mortality for poststernotomy deep sternal infection continues to be high--from 14 to 47%. Established treatment includes surgical debridement, drainage and irrigation, antibiotics, frequent change of wound dressing and direct or secondary closure with omentum or pectoral muscle flap...

BACKGROUND: Temporary abdominal vacuum-packing (vac-pac) closure is well known in adult literature, yet has not been reported in infants. METHODS: A review of children in the neonatal intensive care unit who underwent vac-pac closure from 2000 to 2006 was performed. RESULTS: During this time, 7 infants underwent vac-pac closure after abdominal surgery. Median age was 39 days, with a median weight of 3.2 kg. Reasons for vac-pac included abdominal compartment syndrome (3), ongoing intraabdominal sepsis (1), anticipated second-look procedures (2), and abdominal observation after repair of congenital diaphragmatic hernia on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (1)...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Wound management in children has traditionally consisted of daily dressings. Although vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) is well described in the adult literature, there are few reports about children. We reviewed our experience with VAC. METHODS: A retrospective review from 2003 to 2005 revealed that 16 children underwent VAC. Variables analyzed included demographics, diagnosis, duration and characteristics of VAC, wound closure, recurrence, complications, and cost analysis...

The vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) system has become an accepted treatment modality for acute and chronic wounds in adults. The use of negative-pressure dressing has been documented in adults and, to some extent, in children. However, its use in premature infants has not been reported in the literature. The results of using the VAC system were examined in two premature infants with complex wounds. The VAC system was found to be effective in facilitating the closure of large and complex wounds in these patients...

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Soft tissue loss from infectious, vascular, and traumatic disorders often results in poor healing, painful wound care, and the need for repeated operations. This retrospective study evaluates a single-institutional experience with negative pressure therapy (NPT), using the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) device in a group of children with diverse soft tissue problems. METHODS: The medical records of 51 patients treated with NPT from January 2000 to July 2003 were reviewed for demographics, diagnosis, duration of VAC therapy, wound closure, recurrent disease, and complications...