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hi all!!! i have another wound vac question??? when cutting the black foam i was always taught to cut the foam to "fit the wound", meaning don't let and foam on the good skin, and trim it so that it fits the depth of the wound, a co-worker say she does not trim it to the depth of the wound she puts the entire depth of the sponge into the wound (example: the foam is like one inch thick, the wound is 1/4 inch thick) thanks for your help!!!
You do not need to cut the foam to fit the wound if the surrounding skin (the periwound skin) is protected. You can do this by peridraping or covering the surrounding skin with vac drape. The easiest way to accomplish this is to put a piece of vac drape over the wound, then cut out the portion over the wound. Then put in the sponge. This method is also used for bridging (connecting more than one wound close together). Your vac rep can give you more info on this technique. The vac sponge can also be split to make it thiner using a disposable scapel or a thin version can be ordered if needed. Trust me, I teach these techniques to nurses daily as I am the hospital WOC nurse. Once again, your rep is your best resource! If you don't know who your rep is you can find out by calling KCI at 1-800-275-4524.
The KCI nurses taught me to cut the foam slightly smaller in length, width, and depth. This helps to really suck up next to the foam but still allow room for the tissue to grow.
They also taught me to push the wound edges together with my hand, and if in a abdomen or other "fatty, squishy" area, to push in and up all the way around the wound as the suction is being turned on and holding this position until suction is comlete. This gets better coverage with the foam and brings the bottom of the wound up into better contact with the suction.
The KCI nurses told me that if I followed their instructions I would achieve faster wound healing and in my experience they were correct.
cookie102
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i have a question about wound vacs,,,i work in Home Health and we rountinely change the vac on M W F, on occasion pt goes to the MD on a tuesday and MD won't put the vac back on so we make a visit on tuesday to reapply the vac,,what is everyones opinion on the next visit being on friday vs thurs,,,with the wed and thurs being the same as sat and sun?? does that make sense to you? thanks in advance