title: Vacuum sealing drainage therapy in the presence of an external fixation device: A case report.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) is widely utilized for treating traumatic wounds.
  
  
  METHODS
  It is particularly difficult and time consuming to use in combination with an external fixator.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is because the hardware or pins used for fixation interfere with maintaining a seal, resulting in poor adhesion and subsequent air leakage.
  
  
  METHODS
  To resolve this problem, we have devised a new method for sealing the wound dressing, while maintaining the required vacuum.When using this technique, a rubber strip is wrapped around each pin in 3 circles outside the plastic drape, and then tightly tied.
  
  
  RESULTS
  After completing this procedure, a vacuum is obtained, and any air leakage stops. We employed this technique to treat a cohort of patients in our department over a period of two years, and obtained good healing of soft tissue without air leakage, as well as good clinical outcomes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We have observed that patients treated with this method experienced good clinical outcomes without air leakage, and we recommend its use in treating cases where an external fixation device is present.
authors.affiliation: Division of Orthopedic Traumatology, The First Hospital of Jilin University Department of Neurology, The First Hospital of Jilin University, Changchun, China.
authors.forename: Dahui
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Weina
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ju
authors.forename: Tiejun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Tiecheng
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Baochang
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Qi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D016267:External Fixators; D005592:Fracture Fixation / Q000295:instrumentation; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D054843:Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D012408:Rubber / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000628:therapy*
chemical_list: D012408:Rubber