Vacuum-assisted closure combined with a closed suction irrigation system for treating postoperative wound infections following posterior spinal internal fixation

BACKGROUND: Wound infections after posterior spinal surgery are a troublesome complication; patients are occasionally forced to remove the internal fixation device, which can lead to instability of the spine and injury to the spinal cord. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of modified vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) for treating an early postoperative spinal wound infection. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective study of 18 patients with wound infections after posterior spinal surgery from 2014 to 2017 at a single tertiary center. All patients included in the study received modified VAC treatment (VAC combined with a closed suction irrigation system, CSIS) until the wound satisfied the secondary closure conditions. Detailed information was obtained from the medical records. RESULTS: Wound size decreased significantly after 1 week of the modified VAC treatment. Three patients were treated with VAC three times and one patient received the VAC treatment four times; the remaining patients received the VAC treatment twice. The patients had excellent wound beds after an average of 8 days. The wound healed completely after an average of 17 days, and the average hospital stay was 33 days. There was no recurrence of infection at the 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that VAC combined with a CSIS is a safe, reliable, and effective method to treat a wound infection after spinal surgery. This improved VAC procedure provides an excellent wound bed to facilitate wound healing and shorten the hospital stay.