Management of Wounds with Exposed Bones or Tendons in Children by Vacuum-Assisted Closure Therapy: A Prospective Study

• Published in: Indian journal of plastic surgery Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 097 - 104
• Main Authors: Rasool, Altaf, Bashir, Sheikh Adil, Ahmad, Prince Ajaz, Bijli, Akram Hussain, Baba, Umer Farooq, Yasir, Mir, Wani, Adil Hafeez
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: A-12, Second Floor, Sector -2, NOIDA -201301, India Thieme Medical and Scientific Publishers Private Ltd 01.03.2020; Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc
• Subjects: exposed bone; exposed tendon; Original; Original Article; vac; vaccum-assisted closure; VAC; exposed tendon; vaccum-assisted closure; exposed bone
• ISSN: 0970-0358; 1998-376X
• DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-3400192

Abstract Background  The management of complex soft tissue defects with exposed bones/tendons is always a challenging task for the surgeon and the problem becomes more pronounced when it comes to the management of these wounds in children. Though flap procedures are considered the standard for managing the complex soft tissue defects with exposed bones/tendons yet small blood vessels for anastomosis, long operative period, increased chances of perioperative thrombosis, and difficult perioperative management in children add to the difficulty in performing flap procedures in children. The vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy has emerged as a novel modality for the management of the difficult wounds with added advantages, especially in children. Objective  To evaluate the efficacy of VAC in the management of wounds with exposed bones/tendons in children. Patients and Method  Forty-six children of complex wounds with exposed bones/tendons were included in the study from July 2016 to June 2018. Results  Out of 46 patients, 31 were male; the patients had a mean age of 8.4 years. Road traffic accident was the most common mode of injury (54%), with most of the wounds located over extremities. The mean duration of VAC therapy was 12 days. More than 90% coverage of the exposed structure was seen in 89% of patients. The wounds were definitively managed by split-thickness skin graft in 89% of patients and flap cover in 6.5% of patients. The mean cost of the VAC therapy at our government run hospital was 187 Indian rupees per day. No significant major complications were seen during the treatment. Conclusion  VAC therapy is an efficient, safe, and cost-effective modality of treatment for the management of complex wounds in the pediatric population.