| Dressing difficult body parts |
One of the most difficult patients that I have used a VAC on
was a young man with spina bifida. His spine was like a curved
tree trunk, and he had deep crevices in the skin of his back.
He had a sacral wound that would be good to VAC, but those
crevices sure would make getting a seal difficult. My solution
was to use stoma paste to caulk the crevices and the VAC
dressing worked!!
Cheryl Royce, CWCN Rochester New York
|
| Avoiding leaks |
To prevent leak for negative pressure dressing, try the
stomahesive paste around the wound, then cover with drapes.
Any stomahesive paste will work.
from Lani L. De Guzman RN---
To prevent leaks with the wound vac skin prep all around
the wound and then cut strips of drape and apply them to
picture the wound. Apply foam, the vac and cover with strips
of drape; completely covering the affected area . then if you
think you have a leak apply skin prep again to seal. Duoderm
can also be used to cover dimpled or hard to seal areas prior
to draping.
Kaye --- I've found that if you squeeze Stomahesive
paste into a 6 to 10 cc syringe (without needle), it can be
easily and accurately applied wherever needed (without any
mess!)
Lynda A, ARNP, CWCN |
