ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: It has been proposed that negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) applied prophylactically to a closed incision may decrease the incidence of wound complications. Patients undergoing reduction mammaplasty are at risk of wound complications such as delayed healing, infection, and dehiscence, and the bilateral nature of the surgery allows for a within-patient randomized study to evaluate incisional NPWT's effect in reducing healing complications. METHODS: In this multicenter trial, 200 patients undergoing bilateral reduction mammaplasty were treated with PICO Single-Use NPWT System or standard wound-care dressings randomized to right or left breast for up to 14 days to enable within-patient comparison. Follow-up assessments were conducted to evaluate the difference in incision healing complications up to 21 days postsurgery. Healing complications (for the primary endpoint) were defined as delayed healing (incision not 100% closed by 7 days) and occurrence of dehiscence or infection within 21 days. Individual healing complications were assessed separately as secondary endpoints. RESULTS: Significantly fewer healing complications (primary endpoint) were noted in NPWT-treated breasts [113 (56.8%)] versus standard care [123 (61.8%)]. The difference of 10 (5.0%) patients with fewer healing complications using NPWT was statistically significant (P = 0.004). NPWT also resulted in a significantly lower incidence of dehiscence (secondary endpoint) compared with standard care [32 patients (16.2%) versus 52 patients (26.4%)] by day 21, a relative reduction of 38% (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This is the first major prospective, within-patient, randomized, controlled, multicenter study to provide evidence for an incisional NPWT strategy to reduce healing complications.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The practice of prescribing vitamin E after surgery for scar prevention and treatment is widespread and increasingly popular among both the public and clinicians. However, very little evidence exists for this "ritual." OBJECTIVES: This review was undertaken to critically analyze the current literature about the effect of vitamin E on treating scars. METHODS: The Cochrane, Medline, and PubMed databases were searched based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P). The studies and levels of recommendation were graded according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) criteria. Only prospective studies were included. RESULTS: Only six studies met the inclusion criteria. Of these six included studies, three reported a significant improvement in the cosmetic appearance of scars when using vitamin E: one study used topical vitamin E in white children as monotherapy, and two studies used vitamin E in an adult population as combination therapy. The other three selected studies showed no significant improvement in scar appearance when using topical vitamin E as monotherapy. Two of the six included studies reported adverse events of vitamin E application: contact dermatitis and increased incidence of itching and rash. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that there is not yet sufficient evidence that monotherapy with topical vitamin E has a significant beneficial effect on scar appearance to justify its widespread use. Further prospective studies with vitamin E monotherapy and/or combination therapy are warranted to draw better conclusions regarding the value of vitamin E in the management of scar healing. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2 Therapeutic.
