Wound Vacuum Devices

One common treatment for pressure sores is negative pressure wound therapy. This is the use of a vacuum device that creates a gentle suction on the wound. The wound vac draws drainage out of the wound, keeping it clean. It also draws blood to the wound, and blood flow is important for wound healing. This is an effective treatment that has been used for years to heal wounds.

The company that developed this therapy is Kenetic Concepts Inc., better known simply as KCI. Their name for the treatment is V.A.C. Therapy (see the link on the right under "Recommended Treatments"). KCI patented this technology, and for years was the only company offering wound vac devices. The patent expired recently, and now other companies are entering the field. Most notable among the newcomers is Smith & Nephew, which offers their Renasys Negative Pressure Wound Therapy devices (see link in "Recommended Treatments).

My wound was deemed too small for the KCI device, so I was treated using the Renasys vac. I have no doubt that this device is useful in treating wounds, but it did not help in my case. The visiting nurses I had treating me had many years of experience with the KCI devices, but had never used the Smith & Nephew ones before. There is enough of a difference in the dressings the two systems use to matter. So the nurses applying the dressing were doing so for the first time. That, plus the fact that I did not have the same nurses consistently, led to the failure of the device to help me, in my opinion. I have come to learn that applying the dressings for wound vacs is as much an art as a science, and my nurses were not experts in either.

So once again, the wound did not heal. It did not get worse, but it didn't get better, either. Sound familiar? It sure did to me. By now 4 months had gone by since I went on short term disability, and I was in the same basic condition I was when I started.

But now it gets even more interesting. I start getting a fever. At first I hope it is a urinary tract infection, because I can kick those pretty easily. But after a few days of eating cipro antibiotics, the fever gets worse. The only thing it can be is the wound. I have no choice; I go to the emergency room of the Small Town Hospital where the wound care center I've been using has their offices.

You think this has been fun so far? Just wait - the Follies are just getting started!