Experience with use of improvised negative pressure wound therapy in the management of wounds with exposed bone.

Wounds with exposed bone pose a significant challenge in healing. Negative pressure wound therapy has simplified reconstructive options. In economically constrained regions, this has been modified with materials that are affordable. Its effect on such wounds has not been well studied and so case summaries of 15 patients with 17 wounds who were managed with modified negative pressure wound therapy at Ntasiobi Specialist Hospital and ESUT Teaching Hospital between 2015 and 2019 were obtained. The procedure progressed satisfactorily in 88% of patients with granulation tissue covering the bones while the procedure was discontinued in 12%. The modified negative pressure wound therapy achieves similar results as the patented version and is recommended where resources are limited.