Comparing Negative Pressure Wound Therapy with Instillation and Conventional Dressings for Sternal Wound Reconstructions

BACKGROUND: Muscle flap reconstruction has become a mainstay of therapy following treatment of sternal wound complications; however, success depends on removing wound exudate and infectious material from the wound before reconstruction and closure. Importantly, time to closure is a key factor affecting morbidity/mortality and cost-to-treat for this wound type. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 30 patients who were treated for sternal wound complications between June 2015 and October 2017 was performed. After surgical debridement, group 1 patients (n = 15) received negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) with instillation and dwell time (NPWTi-d), instilling 1/8-strength Dakin’s solution with a 20-minute dwell time followed by 2 hours of NPWT (-125 mm Hg); group 2 patients (n = 15) were treated with wet-to-moist dressings soaked in 1/8-strength Dakin’s solution. After muscle flap reconstruction and closure with sutures, group 1 patients received closed incision negative pressure therapy, and group 2 patients received Benzoin and wound closure strips. Data collected included time to closure, therapy duration, number of debridements/dressing changes, drain duration, and complications. RESULTS: There was a significantly shorter time to closure (P < 0.0001) for group 1 when compared with group 2. In addition, there were fewer therapy days (P = 0.0041), fewer debridements/dressing changes (P = 0.0011), and shorter drain duration (P = 0.0001) for group 1 when compared with group 2. CONCLUSIONS: We describe a novel regimen consisting of adjunctive NPWTi-d, along with debridement and systemic antibiotics, followed by closed incision negative pressure therapy after muscle flap reconstruction and closure, to help manage preexisting sternal wounds that had failed to close following a previous cardiac procedure.