Use of domestic tools to downstage the reconstructive ladder in a patient with severe crush and degloving injury: a case report

In the COVID-19's crisis, elective surgery and non-emergent cases were postponed; all other procedures have to be minimized. A 17-year male patient with severe crush and degloving injury over the thigh, gluteal, sacral, and perineum areas was admitted to our Department on the 16(th) of March 2020. The patient presented soft tissue skin and muscle loss. A double Latissimus Dorsi and Anterolateral Thigh free flaps were indicated. However, due to the particular circumstance of the COVID-19 crisis, we applied domestic negative wound therapy (NPWT) using gauzes and wall suction. We obtained suitable granulation tissue after 17 consecutive days with this treatment. The raw area was then covered with an expanded split-thickness skin graft. The wound healed at 95%, and the patient was discharged on 25(th) of April 2020. He was followed up in an outpatient setting with wound care and physiotherapy. This case showed that in a limited-resource setting, with available wall suction, the domestic NPWT is a versatile tool to promote granulation tissue.