title: Negative pressure wound therapy to prevent seromas and treat surgical incisions after total hip arthroplasty.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) to improve wound healing after total hip arthroplasty (THA) and its influence on the development of postoperative seromas in the wound area.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study is a prospective randomised evaluation of NPWT in patients with large surgical wounds after THA, randomising patients to either a standard dressing (group A) or a NPWT (group B) over the wound area. The wound area was examined with ultrasound to measure the postoperative seromas in both groups on the fifth and tenth postoperative days.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 19 patients randomised in this study. Ten days after surgery, group A (ten patients, 70.5 ± 11.01 years of age) developed seromas with an average size of 5.08 ml and group B (nine patients, 66.22 ± 17.83 years of age) 1.97 ml. The difference was significant (p = 0.021).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NPWT has been used on many different types of traumatic and non traumatic wounds. This prospective, randomised study has demonstrated decreased development of postoperative seromas in the wound and improved wound healing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Division of Trauma Surgery and Orthopaedic Surgery, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nuremberg, Krankenhausstr. 12, 91054 Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pachowsky
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gusinde
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Klein
authors.forename: Siegfried
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lehrl
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schulz-Drost
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schlechtweg
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pauser
authors.forename: Kolja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Gelse
authors.forename: Matthias H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Brem
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods*; D006403:Hematologic Tests; D006801:Humans; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000517:prevention & control; D011446:Prospective Studies; D049291:Seroma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014463:Ultrasonography; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*