You have a choice...Case Reports: Negative pressure Wound Therapy with Instillation and A Reticulated Open Cell Foam Dressing Improves Care

Modern Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) revolutionized the approach in managing challenging wounds since the 1990’s. However, 6.5 million patients are affected by chronic wounds in the U.S. Traditionally, Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) or NPWT with instillation has been used in the treatment of complex wounds requiring hospital admission & serial debridement. NPWT accelerates wound bed preparation by encouraging tissue proliferation, reducing swelling, promoting contraction, & removing excess drainage. With instillation, wounds are cleansed at a set interval further accelerating the healing process by reducing the bioburden. This novel reticulated open cell foam dressing provides a solution to the elusive wounds with devitalized tissue which require serial surgical debridement. The dressing works by using different layers: a contact layer with a pattern of reticulated open cell foam and 2 cover layers (without holes) which offer application possibilities for wounds with different depths. The dressing provides “mechanical” movement at the wound bed in combination with recurring delivery and dwell of solutions. The cover layer is designed to aid in apprehension of  large wound exudate before they enter into the tubing. The wound contact layer’s fenestrations are designed to improve conformability to the wound bed. This new foam softens and gets rid of viscous exudate such as fibrin, slough and/or devitalized tissue within the wound. The purpose of our presentation is to show our experience using this innovative reticulated open cell foam instillation dressing on complex wounds with devitalized tissue through 3 case study examples. We found the use of this dressing contributes to positive wound healing outcomes in all three of our case studies. This dressing proves to assist in the softening and releasing of thick exudate and other infectious materials promoting enhanced healing. All three cases demonstrate rapid and positive wound bed proliferation.