Role of Negative Pressure Therapy as Damage Control in Soft Tissue Reconstruction for Open Tibial Fractures.

AbstractThe concept of damage control orthopaedics (DCO) is a strategy that focuses on managing orthopaedic injuries in polytrauma patients who are in an unstable physiological state. The concept of DCO is an extension of damage control surgery or damage limitation surgery (DCS/DLS). Recently, it has become clear that certain patients, following extensive soft tissue trauma, could benefit from the idea of DCS. In the management of severe lower extremity trauma with exposed fracture sites, aggressive early wound excision debridement, early internal fixation, and vascularized wound coverage within a few days after trauma were proposed. A negative-pressure dressing can be easily and rapidly ap…