The concurrent Use of Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose/Collagen/ Silver Matrix Dressing With Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Dressing On Acute Surgical Wounds

Achieving enhanced wound healing has always been a challenge in complicated acute surgical wounds. An optimal wound environment is essential for continuous wound healing to occur.  Infection, wound stalling, and potential conversion into a chronic wound are all prevented by continuous wound healing. Continuous wound healing and closure of acute surgical wounds requires healthy granulation tissue growth.  The combination of two wound care modalities in an appropriately prepared wound can promote the growth of healthy granulation tissue leading to enhanced wound closure. 

Oxidized Regenerated Cellulose/Collagen/Silver matrix dressing has three components that works together to promote wound healing.  The collagen combined with oxidized regenerated cellulose (ORC) creates a biological scaffolding matrix that supports the regulation of extracellular components such as fibroblasts and keratinocytes that are fundamental to the process of wound healing and skin formation.  The dressing also delivers 0.25% ionically bound silver to the wound, which helps maintain bacterial balance and reduced bacterial growth, lessening the risk of infection. The dressing maintains physiologically moist microenvironment at the wound surface.  This environment is conducive to granulation tissue formation, epithelialization, and optimal wound healing. 

In addition, the use of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) dressings has been well established in facilitating tissue growth.  Its mechanism of cell distortion under the negative pressure results in infiltration of growth factors, increasing cell mitosis and angiogenesis, and results in the formation of granulation tissue. Excessive extracellular fluid containing inflammatory cells is also removed. 

Three cases of patients with surgical wounds are presented using an ORC/Collagen/Silver Matrix Dressing concurrently used with NPWT dressing. All three cases are postoperative abdominal wounds that were shown to achieve enhanced granulation tissue growth when managed with this treatment modality.