Application of Negative Pressure Therapy on Skin Grafts after Soft-Tissue Reconstruction: A Prospective Observational Study

Abstract

A split-thickness skin graft (STSG) is one of the main tools used in the reconstruction of skin defects. Negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been widely used as adjunct therapy for wound healing for decades. Few studies have conducted the outcomes of NPWT use as a postoperative dressing for STSGs. This study aimed to compare the outcomes of the application of NPWT versus conventional dressing on STSGs after soft-tissue reconstruction. A prospective observational study was performed at the King Abdullah Medical City. A total of 18 patients with STSGs for acute or chronic skin defects were recruited. Patients from the two groups—10 patients in the NPWT group and 8 in the No-NPWT group—were postoperatively evaluated for three weeks. Assessment included the STSG take rate, wound healing, pain, infection, hematoma formation, and the need to re-graft the same recipient area. Our data demonstrated a higher mean skin graft take rate in the second and third weeks of the No-NPWT group compared to the NPWT group, but it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). No significant differences between the two groups in terms of wound healing, pain, infection, hematoma formation, and the need to re-graft (p > 0.05) were found. Our study showed that the conventional dressing of STSGs is not inferior to NPWT. In addition, conventional dressing was shown to be easier to use and less expensive to apply, as well as having a higher skin graft take rate and lower infection rate.

Keywords

• split-thickness skin grafts
• dressings
• negative-pressure wound therapy
• vacuum-assisted closure
• wound healing