Intensive care and health outcomes of open abdominal treatment: long-term results of vacuum-assisted wound closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction (VAWCM)

• Published in: Langenbeck's archives of surgery 2017-05, Vol.402 (3), p.481-492
• Main Authors: Willms, A., Schaaf, S., Schwab, R., Richardsen, I., Jänig, C., Bieler, D., Wagner, B., Güsgen, C.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abdominal Surgery; Abdominal Wound Closure Techniques; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cardiac Surgery; Critical Care; Fasciotomy; Female; Follow-Up Studies; General Surgery; Humans; Incisional Hernia - epidemiology; Laparotomy - adverse effects; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy; Original Article; Postoperative Complications - epidemiology; Prospective Studies; Quality of Life; Surgical Mesh; Surveys and Questionnaires; Thoracic Surgery; Time Factors; Traction; Traumatic Surgery; Treatment Outcome; Vascular Surgery; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1435-2443; 1435-2451
• DOI: 10.1007/s00423-017-1575-8

Purpose The study’s purpose is to evaluate the long-term outcome after vacuum-assisted wound closure and mesh-mediated fascial traction (VAWCM) and to identify predictors of quality of life associated with intensive care. Methods Fifty-five patients who underwent open abdomen management at our institution from 2006 to 2013 were prospectively enrolled in this study. After a median follow-up period of 3.8 years, 27 patients completed the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) quality of life questionnaire. As this is a report solely focused on quality of life, direct treatment-related outcome measures like mortality, closure rates, and incisional hernia development of this study cohort have been reported previously. Results SF-36 physical role (54.6 ± 41.0 (0–100), p