Effect of Incision Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Donor Site Morbidity in Breast Reconstruction with Deep Inferior Epigastric Artery Perforator Flap

Background: Closed incision negative-pressure therapy (ciNPT) has become increasingly used on surgical sites to attempt to minimize postoperative complications. The literature describing the benefits of ciNPT in reducing donor site morbidity after free tissue transfer is limited. This review compares the effectiveness of ciNPT and conventional dressings in reducing donor site complications after free tissue transfer. Methods: A systematic review of PubMed and Ovid (MEDLINE) utilizing the search terms ((flap) AND (donor)) AND ((negative pressure) OR (vacuum)) was conducted. Bibliographies of selected articles were also searched. Relevant outcomes were collected and analyzed. Results: After screening 156 articles, 12 studies were included in the study with a total of 1074 donor sites. The following postoperative complications at the donor site after a free tissue transfer were analyzed: wound dehiscence, infection, seroma, hematoma, and skin necrosis. Use of ciNPT was associated with lower incidence of wound dehiscence compared with conventional dressings (OR: 0.37; 95% CI, 0.23–0.58). The incidence of infection, seroma, hematoma, and skin necrosis were overall lower in the ciNPT group; although, this was not statistically significant. Conclusions: Use of ciNPT was associated with a significantly lower incidence of free flap donor site wound dehiscence compared with conventional dressings. The use of ciNPT on free flap donor sites appears to have overall lower rates of other wound complications such as seroma, hematoma, skin necrosis, and infection.

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 41%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Closed Incision Negative-Pressure Therapy on Free Flap Donor Sites: A Meta-analysis of Postoperative Outcomes

Le,

Martinez,

Mujadzic

et al. 2024

“…1). 15–91 A list of all included studies is available in Supplemental Digital Content 3. ( See table, Supplementary Digital Content 3 , which displays characteristics and references of all included studies.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Spin” in Observational Studies in Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator Flap Breast Reconstruction: A Systematic Review

Kim

Yuan

et al. 2023

Breast reconstruction after mastectomy in breast cancer patients is known to provide significant improvements in psychological well-being. 1 Among various techniques available, the deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is considered to be the gold standard for autologous breast reconstruction. 2 Despite the clinical importance and high regard of the DIEP flap technique, most research studies in leading plastic surgery journals are nonrandomized and observational in nature. 3 Nonrandomized observational studies on DIEP flap breast reconstruction have shown high risk of bias in their methodology. 2 Nonrandomized observational studies are generally considered to be of lesser quality evidence compared with randomized controlled trials (RCT) and systematic reviews/meta-analyses of RCTs. Nonetheless, observational studies are commonplace in plastic surgery. The prevalence of observational research, in part, is due to being less resource intensive and easier to conduct. 4 Other Breast Original articleBackground: The deep inferior epigastric artery perforator (DIEP) flap is widely used in autologous breast reconstruction. However, the technique relies heavily on nonrandomized observational research, which has been found to have high risk of bias. "Spin" can be used to inappropriately present study findings to exaggerate benefits or minimize harms. The primary objective was to assess the prevalence of spin in nonrandomized observational studies on DIEP reconstruction. The secondary objectives were to determine the prevalence of each spin category and strategy. Methods: MEDLINE and Embase databases were searched from January 1, 2015, to November 15, 2022. Spin was assessed in abstracts and full-texts of included studies according to criteria proposed by Lazarus et al. Results: There were 77 studies included for review. The overall prevalence of spin was 87.0%. Studies used a median of two spin strategies (interquartile range: 1-3). The most common strategies identified were causal language or claims (n = 41/77, 53.2%), inadequate extrapolation to larger population, intervention, or outcome (n = 27/77, 35.1%), inadequate implication for clinical practice (n = 25/77, 32.5%), use of linguistic spin (n = 22/77, 28.6%), and no consideration of the limitations (n = 21/77, 27.3%). There were no significant associations between selected study characteristics and the presence of spin. Conclusions:The prevalence of spin is high in nonrandomized observational studies on DIEP reconstruction. Causal language or claims are the most common strategy. Investigators, reviewers, and readers should familiarize themselves with spin strategies to avoid misinterpretation of research in DIEP reconstruction.

“…Included studies were published from 2020 to 2022. Of the eight studies included, six were retrospective cohorts, [19][20][21][22]25,26 one was a retrospective case-control, 24 and one was a single-blinded, randomized clinical trial. 27 Data on 1009 patients were reported, and data on surgery type were corroborated in seven of the studies.…”

Section: Overview Of Included Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of Closed-incision Negative Pressure Wound Therapy on Abdominal Site Complications in Autologous Breast Reconstruction

Dunson,

Kogan,

Grosser

et al. 2023

Background: Closed-incision negative pressure wound therapy (ciNPWT) has shown promise in reducing surgical wound complications. Among its numerous benefits, it allows for exudate management and tension offloading from wound edges. The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to assess the efficacy of prophylactic ciNPWT versus conventional dressings on abdominal donor site complications in microsurgical breast reconstruction (MR). Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines in January 2023. PubMed and Embase were searched to identify all relevant studies. Data collected included rates of total wound complications, wound dehiscence, infection, seroma, and length of hospital stay. Results: A total of 202 articles were screened, and eight studies (1009 patients) met the inclusion criteria. Use of ciNPWT was associated with a significantly lower rate of wound dehiscence (OR, 0.53; 95% confidence interval, 0.33–0.85; P = 0.0085, I 2 = 0%). There was no significant difference in the rate of total wound complications [odds ratio (OR), 0.63; 95% CI, 0.35–1.14; P = 0.12, I 2 = 69%], donor site infection (OR, 0.91; 95% CI, 0.42–1.50; P = 0.47, I 2 = 13%), seroma (OR, 0.74; 95% CI, 0.22–2.49; P = 0.63, I 2 = 57%), or length of hospital stay (SMD, 0.089; 95% CI, –0.13–0.35; P = 0.37, I 2 = 29%). Conclusions: Although exudate management by ciNPWT fails to reduce surgical site infection, seroma formation, and overall length of stay, ciNPWT tension offloading properties seem to be associated with lower rates of wound dehiscence when compared with conventional dressings in abdominal-based autologous breast reconstruction.