We report our experience with three patients who received NPWT over complex incisions following combined fleur-de-lis panniculectomy with ventral hernia repair. All patients received perioperative antibiotics. Panniculectomy was performed prior to components separation and underlay of biologic graft. Closure followed with drain placement to all undermined areas, with 3 French fry portals left o...

Negative-pressure pulmonary edema (NPPE) or postobstructive pulmonary edema is a well-described cause of acute respiratory failure that occurs after intense inspiratory effort against an obstructed airway, usually from upper airway infection, tumor, or laryngospasm. Patients with NPPE generate very negative airway pressures, which augment transvascular fluid filtration and precipitate interstit...

The purpose of this review was to evaluate mortality rates of open abdomen patients with severe peritonitis who received negative pressure therapy (NPT) versus open packing techniques as a method of temporary abdominal closure (TAC). Authors retrospectively reviewed consecutive records from five different surgical departments of patients who received NPT (V.A.C. technology) and open packing (OP...

Continuous positive-pressure ventilation in acute respiratory failure. By Kumar A, Falke KJ, Geffin B, Aldredge CF, Laver MB, Lowentein E, Pontoppidan H. N Engl J Med 1970; 283:1430-6. Reprinted with permission. Continuous positive-pressure ventilation was used in eight patients with severe acute respiratory failure. Cardiac output and lung function were studied during continuous positive-press...

Intermittent hypoxia due to sleep apnea syndrome is associated with cardiovascular diseases. However, the precise mechanisms by which intermittent hypoxic stress accelerates cardiovascular diseases are largely unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of gp91(phox)-containing NADPH oxidase in the development of left ventricular (LV) remodeling induced by intermittent hypoxic st...

Successful treatment of peritonitis with negative pressure wound therapy has been frequently reported. Long term open abdomen treatment in complex cases such as in the treatment of peritonitis, often leads to an extensive abdominal wall defects. It may be challenging to close such a defect. Both primary sutures and synthetic meshes are strongly discouraged in surgical treatments of such cases. ...

EVIDENCE DEFINITIONS  Class I: Prospective randomized controlled trial.  Class II: Prospective clinical study or retrospective analysis of reliable data. Includes observational, cohort, prevalence, or case control studies.  Class III: Retrospective study. Includes database or registry reviews, large series of case reports, expert opinion.  Technology assessment: A technology study which doe...

Venous ulcers occurs in 1% of adult population and is associated with chronic disability, diminished quality of life and high health care costs. Treatment is often slow, difficult and challenging. Poor prognostic factors include large ulcer size and prolonged duration. Moreover the recurrence rates may be as high as 70%. We present case report of 58 years old woman with very large bilateral ven...

EDITOR: Negative pressure pulmonary oedema is a medical emergency that usually arises from attempted ventilations against an acutely obstructed upper airway, such as the one that occurs during laryngospasm, resulting in transudation of fluid from pulmonary capillaries to the interstitium. Frequently, this occurs in the perioperative period when general anaesthesia is used. Clinicians should pro...