wound vacs

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is there a trend in using wound vacs for surgeries? The hospital I work at some docs are using wound vacs on hips and open hearts. Is anyone else seeing this trend. Just curious?????

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Wound VACs as in open incision or something like the Prevena VAC, where the skin incision is closed?

My facility is using the Prevena VAC on patients who meet certain criteria- diabetic, steroids, large pendulous breasts on women with sternal incisions, expectation of poor wound healing.

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They are placing wound vacs on closed incisions. Staples usually in place. Any rationale behind this?

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Specializes in OR, Nursing Professional Development.

Yes, there is at least one new option for VAC use on incisions- the one I know of is the Prevena. This is what Prevena says:The PREVENAâ„¢ Incision Management System covers and protects the incision from external contamination, while negative pressure removes fluid and infectious material from the surgical incision.

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Specializes in TBI and SCI.

I simply going to say that in my unit we have 2 people on wound vac. One is a head surgery- he never has drainage though and I don't do his wound care, so I don't know much. The other is a dbl BKA- not even a recent surgery and both legs have a wound vac?

I don't know the reasons, I just get told, "hey FYI" bad I know lol. But neither have drainage, I'm hoping they get d/c soon.

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