Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy Application in Fingertip Replantations and a Systematic Review

Abstract

ingertip replantation is technically challenging for microsurgeons because of the difficulty in identifying sizable vessels for anastomosis and the severity and mechanism of injury that aggravate the injury. Venous congestion is one of the most common causes of replantation failure. 1,2 It is acknowledged that venous drainage is crucial to increase the fingertip survival rate. [3][4][5] Therefore, various venous drainage techniques and salvage procedures have been introduced to achieve successful fingertip replantation. 6-8 However, which salvage procedure is the most beneficial and effective in fingertip replantation is controversial. Negative-pressure wound therapy has proven beneficial for different limb injuries, with or without postoperative flap reconstructions. 9,10 Previous studies have demonstrated that negative-pressure wound therapy can improve neovascularization 11-13 and perfusion, 14 and can relieve venous congestion in flap

Negative Pressure Wound Therapy for Gas Gangrene of the Fingertip with Prolonged Infection

“… 13 In our case, an infection that affected the patient’s general condition developed, and prolonged wound healing and increased exudate were confirmed; however, NPWT use resulted in conservative wound healing. To the best of our knowledge, only one report exists on NPWT on the fingertip, 14 and none on the use of NPWT for treating the infection of the fingertip. The advantage of this method is that it does not require specialized and advanced surgical techniques, like skin flap surgery or skin graft surgery, by hand surgeons or plastic surgeons.…”