TEMPORARY WOUND COVERING WITH A SILICON SHEET FOR THE SOFT-TISSUE DEFECT FOLLOWING OPEN FASCIOTOMY - TECHNICAL NOTE

Objective. Temporary covering of a defect of the soft tissues with a s ilicon sheet after fasciotomy in the treatment of compartment syndrome . Design. Retrospective study. Setting. University Hospital, Tubingen. Patients. From January 1991 to June 1996, open fasciotomy Nas perform ed a total of 18 times on 17 patients with compartment syndrome. In 17 of the 18 cases acute vascular ischemia was the cause of the compartm ent syndrome. Interventions. For the 18 necessary fasciotomies, a sili con sheet was temporarily used to cover the defect of the soft tissue temporarily a total of 9 times, The silicon sheet was gradually drawn together and the wound was finally closed with a secondary suture. Res ults. In 6 of the 9 cases a secondary suture could be performed withou t any difficulties after the swelling had subsided, and a meshgraft co vering was not necessary. Only one patient suffered from wound infecti on because the silicon sheet had not been sutured correctly. In the ot her cases there was no sign of infection. The wound dressing was chang ed painlessly and furthermore, an improved cosmetic result was observe d. Conclusions. There are considerable advantages in the use of a sili con sheet as a temporary covering for the defect of the soft tissues i n the treatment of compartment syndrome: lower costs because of shorte r hospitalisation and the dressing change is practically painless. A r educed risk of infection and improved cosmetic results are further adv antages of this method.