Ending surgical site infection by negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT): A case report

Hundreds of millions of people may go through surgery every year worldwide. Surgical site infection (SSI) is one of the most common complications of the surgery. SSI increases the duration of treatment, delays wound healing, increases the use of antibiotics, and in severe cases, causes patient death and imposes high costs on the patient and the health care system. The present case report is a 45-year-old man with a history of 8-years type 2 diabetes who underwent surgery for a pilonidal cyst. Despite routine dressing changes (cleansing the wound with saline and applying sterile gauze) twice a day and intravenous (IV) antibiotic therapy, no improvement was observed and the wound became infected. The patient was referred to our wound care team. NPWT (applying a pressure of 125 mm Hg intermittently) was performed 4 times a day for one week. Also, after each session until the beginning of the next session, the patient's wound was bandaged. The patient's wound healed completely after about 2 months. Patients with diabetes mellitus will have difficulty in wound healing due to microvascular changes. Thus, efficient therapeutic methods such as surgical debridement, maggot therapy, and NPWT are necessary for management of surgical site infection. This case report was showed that NPWT is an affordable and highly efficacious treatment method for management of SSI in patients with diabetes mellitus. Therefore, it is suggested that wound care teams may use NPWT to treat SSIs. •Advances in technology for patients with diabetes mellitus have increased their lifespan.•NPWT is an effective treatment for deep wounds.•NPWT is an efficacious treatment method for management of SSI in patients with diabetes mellitus.