Abstract
THERE HAS BEEN RAPID ADOPTION OF VACUUM-ASSISTED
CLOSURE (VAC) TECHNOLOGY to treat many acute and chronic wounds despite a rudimentary under-standing of the biologic mechanisms of action and few well-controlled, prospective, randomized clini-cal trials of its use.
An expert panel carried out a selected review of published literature regarding the mechanisms of action of the VAC device in the context of published clinical studies.
The current literature suggests primary mecha-nisms of action of the VAC device may include the following: (1) drawing the wound edges together;
(2) stabilization of the wound environment;
(3) decrease in wound edema and removal of wound exudate; and (4) microdeformations of the wound surface. Secondary effects include increased angiogenesis, granulation tissue formation, and, in some cases, a decrease in bacterial bioburden.