Negative Pressure Wound Therapy for Primarily Closed Wounds in Sarcoma
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Negative Pressure Wound Therapy for Primarily Closed Wounds in Primary Excision of Soft Tissue Musculoskeletal Sarcoma
IRAS ID
195498
Contact name
Ashish Mahendra
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Clinical Research and Development, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 11 months, 29 days
Research summary
There is an emerging body of evidence indicating that the application of a wound dressing which creates a small gradient of negative pressure over a closed wound (negative pressure wound therapy, or NPWT) following surgery, gives benefits of rapid wound healing and lower infection rates. Infection and wound breakdown cause extended hospital stay, cost of treatment and importantly anxiety for the patient.
Our unit removes cancerous tumours from the limbs and involves a greater than normal chance of wound problems. Anecdotally we have found that the use of these dressings has helped out patients, however without scientific analysis, we are unable to prove that they are effective, and thus are unable to justify their cost.
We aim to assess the efficacy of these dressings compared to a traditional dressing which we currently use. We intend on randomising our patients to either a NPWT dressing or traditional dressing. We will use a wound health scoring system at 96 hours and observe for the future need for antibiotics or further surgery.REC name
West of Scotland REC 5
REC reference
16/WS/0146
Date of REC Opinion
25 Aug 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion