Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and Integra® DRT for Avulsion Injuries of the Lower Extremities – Presentation of Two Cases and Literature Review

Abstract

Two cases which involved a massive avulsion injury of the lower extremities are presented. In both cases the treatment consisted of sequential debridement during the initial period after which negative pressure wound therapy was applied for a period of three to four weeks in order to enable the formation of a solid layer of granulation tissue and a clinically clean wound. Subsequently, INTEGRA® DRTwas fixed to the wound bed with negative pressure wound therapy. During the next three weeks INTEGRA® DRT „integrated“ which enabled split-thickness skin grafting with 0.2 mm thick grafts. In both cases the final outcome was functionally and cosmetically satisfying with near normal contours of the lower extremity restored. Negative pressure wound therapy for a period of three to four weeks enables control of the colonisation of the wound bed and a formation of a solid layer of granulation tissue. The application of INTEGRA® DRT enables formation of the neodermis which provides elasticity and better contours of the reconstructed tissue. A downside of this type of treatment is the price as well as the duration of therapy of about eight weeks.