Julien Hasselmann (Malmö, Sweden) talks to iWounds News at ESVS 2019 (European Society of Vascular Surgery; 24–27 September; Hamburg, Germany) about the recent findings of the INVIPS trial which looked at the effect of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) on closed incisions after inguinal vascular surgery and the incidence of surgical site infections (SSIs).
Groin incisions are “the most difficult when it comes to SSIs” and “a lot can go wrong in this region”, says Hasselmann, who adds that the trial data has shown that “we can reduce the SSI rate significantly using negative pressure”.
Hasselmann explains that before the trial was conducted “we found some pretty horrendous numbers” regarding the SSI rate following elective procedures–around 30%. The INVIPS data showed that NPWT provided a “significant” reduction (from 29.5% down to 11.9%) in the SSI rate. By reducing the infection rate “we do not only decrease something that is bothering all surgeons, we might also be able to save lives”, he adds.
