Is Foam More Effective Than Gauze With Negative Pressure Wound Therapy?
Yes. Lee C. Rogers, DPM cites the evidence from negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) trials and says the characteristics of NPWT foam facilitate the development of granulation tissue and improved healing in diabetic foot ulcers. There is no question that negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) is a valuable modality in facilitating wound closure. In particular, the use of foam dressings with NPWT has demonstrated success in reducing wound surface size and accelerating the formation of granulation tissue. The foam most commonly used in NPWT is the Vacuum-Assisted Closure (VAC) Granufoam (Kinetic Concepts, Inc.). This is an open-cell polyurethane foam. Its defining properties are cell (pore) size, contractility and non-absorbency. Each of these properties influences the wound bed. Researchers have shown that the cell size of VAC therapy foam produces tangential strain, which causes microdeformation of the cells in the wound bed and stimulates proliferation.1 This micro-strain results in
