Negative Pressure Wound Therapy Uses in Orthopedic Open Fracture: A Current Concept Review

Abstract

During an open fracture, the barrier of skin that protects the bones is breached, and the unprotected bones are exposed to the environment, resulting in contamination that leads to hematoma formation. It is often found that open fractures are associated with a high rate of morbidity and infection. In spite of the lack of evidence supporting negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), open fractures may benefit from it. An increasing number of studies have demonstrated that it can be used to treat open fractures and open complex wounds after failure of arthroplasty or spinal surgery. Based on the recent studies and evidence, we reviewed the role of the NPWT in the open fracture in the present study.