Introduction/Background Surgical site infections (SSI) have substantial health and economic burdens on society by increasing morbidity, mortality and length of hospital stay. The incidence of SSI after laparotomy are found to be amongst the highest in the surgical field. In gynaecological oncological surgery, this incidence has been reported to be as high as 27%. Thus, there is much interest in continuing to improve practice to minimise SSI. Here, we looked at the effect of using a closed-incision negative pressure wound therapy (ciNPWT) device, PREVENA PLUS^TM, on the incidence of SSI in gynaecological oncology patients undergoing midline laparotomies.

Methodology This was a prospective pilot case-control study, with a total of 14 patients who received the PREVENA PLUS^TM dressing and 26 patients in the control group whose incisions were dressed with the traditional Tegaderm^TM dressing.

Inclusion criteria: Patients undergoing operations under the gynaecological oncology team with a midline laparotomy incision extending above the umbilicus. The vacuum dressing should have been applied directly after primary closure of the laparotomy wound.

All patients were followed up for a period of 30 days after surgery and regular records were kept of the condition of the laparotomy site. The primary outcome was the incidence of SSI after 30 days postoperatively.

Results The incidence of SSI at 30 days postoperatively was 21% (3/14) in the treatment group and 23% (6/26) in the control group. There was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (P=0.7). There were 2 cases of deep wound infection with spontaneous dehiscence in the group who received Prevena PLUS^TMcompared to no deep dehiscence in the control group (p=0.1).

Conclusion The use of the PREVENA PLUS^TM ciNPWT dressing for midline laparotomy wounds does not reduce the incidence of SSI at 30 days postoperatively.

Disclosure Nothing to disclose.