The use of negative pressure wound therapy for wound complication management after vascular procedures

Aim: To evaluate the results of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in the management of post-operative wound infections (Szilagyi's classification grade II and III) after elective arterial revascularization. Patients and methods: Retrospective analysis of patients' data. All patients who were treated between 2015 and 2018 using NPWT for wound infections after elective arterial procedures on lower extremities were included. Results: Between 2015 and 2018 a total of 13 patients have been treated using NPWT after elective infrainguinal arterial revascularization. There were nine men and four women of an average age of 72 years. Nine patients were treated for Szilagyi grade II infection (69.2%) and four patients for Szilagyi grade III infection (30.8%). In 11 cases there was an early postoperative infection (84.6%). The most common bacterial agent was Staphylococcus aureus. The minimum follow-up was 12 months. During the follow-up, the patency of arterial reconstructions was 92.3% and in 84.6% complete wound healing was achieved. The treatment success rate in the artificial graft patients' group was 88.9%. Conclusion: NPWT is an effective treatment of wound infections in patients after arterial lower extremity revascularization. The method shows promising results in the management of artificial graft infection as well.