Abstract
Background Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was initially introduced for wound management,
but its benefits have stimulated the investigation of its use in new clinical scenarios.
Most recently, incisional NPWT has been shown to be a benefit. Incisional NPWT applied
to skin-containing free tissue transfer has not been well defined. This may originate
from concerns of dressing material obscuring frequent examination of the newly transferred
tissue or risk of pedicle compression and potential for increased risk of tissue loss.
We aim to describe incisional NPWT in cutaneous free tissue transfer.
Methods An institutional review board-approved retrospective review of consecutive free tissue
transfer patients was completed over a 3-year period. Free tissue transfer procedures
were performed in standard manner. After fixation of the flap to the donor site with
interrupted sutures, one or two drainage tubes were inserted in the subflap position.
The surface of the flap was protected with Vaseline gauze followed by a 1 cm thick
layer of sterile cotton. The vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) sponge (KCI, TX) was then
placed in the standard fashion and negative pressure at −125 mm Hg was initiated in
a continuous mode. A window was routinely made over the flap's distal region to allow
for serial flap examination. For extremity procedures, no splints were utilized, and
patients were limited to motion in the hospital bed. NPWT was employed continuously
for 7 days and subsequently removed along with operative drains.
Results A total of 24 consecutive patients underwent free tissue transfer. The average patient
age was 39.8 years with a mean body mass index of 23. Tobacco use was noted in 58%
of patients in the series. The indication for the free tissue transfer included trauma
(N = 21), malignancy (N = 2), and burn reconstruction (N = 1). The areas of reconstruction included scalp (N = 5), lower extremity (N = 11), and upper extremity (N = 8). Skin-containing free flaps employed consisted of the latissimus dorsi myocutaneous
free flap (N = 16), anterolateral thigh free flap (N = 6), thoracodorsal artery perforator free flap (N = 1), and radial forearm free flap (N = 1). The average defect size reconstructed was 238.3 cm2 with a mean operative time of 501 minutes. Postoperatively, patients remained in
the hospital an average of 15.5 days (range: 9–32 days) with a mean follow-up of 8.1
months. No hematomas, seromas, surgical-site infections, or deep vein thrombosis/pulmonary
embolism occurred in the series. None of the flaps required return to the operating
room. There were no documented cases of partial or complete flap loss.
Conclusions NPWT may be employed in a fashion similar to the standard incisional application.
With this technique, serial flap examination remains possible and is not associated
with pedicle compression or increased rates of flap loss. Interestingly, no splints
were utilized with the VAC device which itself may serve as a relative immobilizer
of an extremity.
Keywords
NPWT - free tissue transfer - cutaneous flap
