Objective: This study aimed to introduce a new wound management method combining negative pressure wound therapy and polymethylmethacrylate sealant for Gustilo type III open tibia fractures and to evaluate its clinical outcomes.
Methods: Among 186 patients who visited our institution for the treatment of open tibia fractures between January 2016 and December 2019, 20 male patients who sustained Gustilo type III open tibia fractures and were compelled to undergo delayed flap coverage using negative pressure wound therapy combined with polymethylmethacrylate sealant due to initial critical condition were enrolled in this study. We retrospectively investigated patients' demographics, interval between the injury and flap coverage, number of negative pressure wound therapy changes, flap survival, bone union time, and infection-induced complications.
Results: The mean interval from injury until flap coverage was 27.8 (range, 8-63) days. Most soft-tissue defects were reconstructed using free flaps (14/20, 70%); the anterolateral thigh flap was the most frequently used flap (12/20, 60%) in this study. Among 20 flaps trans- ferred, 16 flaps (80%) survived uneventfully, 1 flap (5%) developed partial necrosis, and 3 flaps (15%) failed. The mean follow-up period was 22.7 (range, 12- 43) months. A total of 17 patients (85%) achieved tibia fracture union. The mean bone union time was 31 (range, 12-81) weeks. With regard to infection-induced complications, 3 patients (15%) developed osteomyelitis and no patient showed superficial surgical site infection.
Conclusion: Combination therapy using negative pressure wound therapy and polymethylmethacrylate sealant serves as a useful and reliable therapeutic strategy for wound management of Gustilo type III open tibia fractures, especially when delayed soft-tissue recon- struction is unavoidable. Corresponding author: Yoo Joon Sur yoojoon@catholic.ac.kr Content of this journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Level of evidence: Level IV, Therapeutic Study.