title: Treatment of thoracic wounds with adapted vacuum therapy.
abstract: This is a report of seven cases of infected thoracic wounds treated with an adapted low-cost vacuum therapy in the Thoracic Surgery Unit of Santa Marcelina Hospital. The vacuum system used was designed and adapted to our hospital due to financial limitations on the acquisition of commercial kits. The vacuum-assisted closure kit used in this study consisted of chlorhexidine sponges (which are usually used for antisepsis of the surgical team), a 16F nasogastric tube, and two sterile adhesive films (OPSITE) for surgical field reinforcement. The mean duration of vacuum therapy was 13.4 days (range, 10-20 days), with an average of three dressing changes (range, 1-5). After treatment with vacuum-assisted closure, three wounds (3/7) were closed with simple primary sutures, one of the lesions (1/7) was closed by muscle flap rotation, and three wounds (3/7) healed by second intention. This adapted vacuum therapy was safe and easy to apply in our institution, including its use in patients with thoracostomies.
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery Department, Hospital Santa Marcelina, Oncology Center of Hospital São José, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Igor Renato L B
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: de Abreu
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery Department, Hospital Santa Marcelina, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Edgard P O
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Pontes
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery Department, Hospital Santa Marcelina, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mauro F L
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Tamagno
authors.affiliation: Oncology Center of Hospital São José, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rodrigo Afonso
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sardenberg
authors.affiliation: Oncology Center of Hospital São José, Department of Surgery, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Riad Naim
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Younes
authors.affiliation: Thoracic Surgery Department, Hospital Santa Marcelina, Oncology Center of Hospital São José, São Paulo, Brazil. Electronic address: fernandocabrao@uol.com.br.
authors.forename: Fernando Conrado
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Abrão
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D035441:Thoracic Wall / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery*
keywords: infections; thoracic wounds; vacuum therapy