VACUUM ASSISTED HYDROCOLLOID DRESSING - OUR EXPERIENCE.

Corresponding Author:
Dr. Vasudev Murthy Kumar,
#525, Tank Road, Doddballapur-561203,
Bangalore Rural District.
E-mail: murthy_dbp@yahoo.com

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND

Chronic ulcers are responsible for significant morbidity and mortality all over the world. Management of these ulcers is constantly updated with newer advancements and newer dressing materials. Vacuum-assisted hydrocolloid dressing (VAHCD) is one such dressing, which combines the advantages of hydrocolloid support with provision of sub-atmospheric pressure by vacuum. Our study is an attempt to evaluate the efficacy of VAHCD in large chronic ulcers.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of VAHCD on large chronic ulcers.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This study was conducted as descriptive study. Patients with ulcers more than 10 * 10 cm size, who attended in the dept. were included in the study. Patient’s consent was taken. All these patients were done VAHCD and results were recorded.

RESULTS

28 patients were included in the study, of which 13 were of 2 to 6 months duration. 20 ulcers were of size from 10 to 20 cm in largest dimension. After dressing with VAHCD, majority of ulcers showed more than 1 cm decrease in size per dressing and depth of ulcers were filled up within 1 - 2 dressings.

CONCLUSION

Vacuum-Assisted Hydrocolloid Dressing is an efficient and overall cost-effective method in management of chronic ulcers.

KEYWORDS

Vacuum-Assisted Hydrocolloid Dressing (VAHCD), Chronic Ulcer, Subatmospheric Pressure.