title: Management of a circumferential lower extremity degloving injury with the use of vacuum-assisted closure.
abstract: A 58-year-old male presented with a large circumferential degloving injury and was immediately taken to the operating room for further assessment of his wound. At that time, a plastic surgeon was consulted to manage the wound due to its size and significant soft tissue loss. The decision was made to manage the patient's wound with the vacuum-assisted closure (VAC) device to prepare the wound bed for grafting. After three weeks of VAC therapy, the wound bed was revascularized with granulation tissue and was ready for grafting. The patient underwent a successful split thickness skin graft on hospital Day 23 and was discharged home. Follow-up visits revealed no scar contracture or functional limitations.
authors.affiliation: University of Tennessee College of Medicine-Chattanooga Unit, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hayes Hand Center, 979 East 3rd Street, Erlanger Medical Mall, Suite C 920, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA. utplastics@thepsg.org
authors.forename: Lesley K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Nesbit
authors.forename: Leslie A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Turner
authors.forename: Larry A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Sargent
mesh_terms: D000062:Accidents, Occupational; D003646:Debridement; D006801:Humans; D007869:Leg Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009779:Occlusive Dressings; D011890:Railroads; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D007507:Therapeutic Irrigation; D014618:Vacuum; D014945:Wound Healing