Preclinical assessment of novel longer-duration wear negative pressure wound therapy dressing in a porcine model

While reticulated open cell foam (ROCF) is a well-established dressing for negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), there is the known potential for granulation tissue ingrowth if left in place for longer than 72 h. This may cause wound bed disruption, bleeding, and pain upon dressing removal. In addition, any retained foam fragments may elicit an adverse tissue reaction. A novel, easy to use dressing designed to utilise the advantages of ROCF while addressing its challenges has recently been created. This 7 day study investigated the utility of a novel NPWT dressing under longer-duration wear circumstances while assessing the prevalence of tissue ingrowth and ease of dressing removal in full-thickness excisional wounds utilising a porcine model. Histopathology and morphometry evaluations indicated thicker granulation tissue with, depending on the parameters assessed, either comparable or better tissue quality for wounds treated with the novel dressing. Greater re-epithelialization levels were also evident compared with ROCF. Three-dimensional imaging analysis indicated faster wound fill with a corresponding decrease in wound area with the novel dressing. Furthermore, tissue ingrowth was limited to only ROCF-treated wounds, which was not unexpected in this longer-duration wear study. The force required to remove the novel dressing was considerably lower compared with ROCF, correlating to the tissue ingrowth results. Results of this study illustrate that the novel dressing provided more favourable wound healing results compared with traditional ROCF. In addition, reduction in the risk of tissue ingrowth and low dressing peel force may allow it to be used as a longer-wear dressing.