The use of improvised negative pressure therapy to manage wounds in difficult situations at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso: a case series

Abstract

Background Creating an airtight seal is vital in making a Negative pressure wound therapy setup functional and effective but in some conditions, this may be difficult to achieve. Case presentation We present the methods of use of improvised negative pressure therapy in the difficult settings of external fixation and complete scotch cast with a window for wound dressing in two patients managed at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso. The simple use of opsite initially over the foam dressing and reinforcing it with cling film and subsequently wrapping strips of opsite around the pin sites and the potential leak sites as described in this report is very effective and with lower cost when compared with other methods. Conclusion The use of cling film and opsite only in maintaining an airtight seal in difficult settings of negative pressure wound therapy is simple and cost-effective with good wound outcomes.

Keywords

• Negative pressure wound therapy
• improvised wound therapy
• Vacuum-assisted closure, external fixator
• wound management