A comprehensive study on effectiveness of wound healing in vacuum assisted wound dressing

Background: Delayed wound healing is a significant health problem, particularly in older adults. In addition to the pain and suffering, failure of the wound to heal also imposes social and financial burdens. Vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) therapy has been developed as an alternative to the standard forms of wound management, which incorporates the use of negative pressure to optimize conditions for wound healing and requires fewer painful dressing changes. Aim: To assess whether the management of non-healing wounds using VAC therapy will result in improved efficacy and safety outcomes compared with conventional methods. Materials and methods: Present prospective, time bound study was done for 1 year from January 2016 to December 2016 over 50 subjects (25 cases and 25 controls). Details of cases were recorded including history and wound characteristics. Routine investigations were done. Follow up with size of wound, appearance of granulation tissue after day 0, 3, 6, 9, 12 and so on dressings were done. Results: Patients managed with VAC had increased rate of r epithelialization and fewer patients required repeat split thickness skin graft to the same site. VAC was more effective at treating various chronic and complex wounds, as there was a significantly greater reduction in wound volume, depth and treatment duration. Conclusion: VAC results in better healing than standard methods, with few serious complications. More rigorous studies with larger sample sizes assessing the use of VAC therapy on different wound types are required.