News and views

KCI, an Acelity Company, has announced the launch of the V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Large Dressing designed for use with V.A.C. VERAFLO Therapy to cleanse larger wounds with thick, fibrous exudate and infectious material such as slough and which may be used on patients when surgical debridement must be delayed or is not possible or appropriate. With a unique, three-layer foam design with an array of holes, V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Dressing allows for selective wound cleansing beyond traditional negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) dressings and provides flexibility in treating wounds of various depths. V.A.C. VERAFLO Therapy consists of NPWT coupled with automated, controlled delivery to and removal of topical wound treatment solutions from the wound bed. It is unique in that it uses dressings, like CLEANSE CHOICE, specifically designed for instillation therapy with NPWT that are less hydrophobic than the current V.A.C. Therapy Dressings to provide improved fluid distribution and removal from the wound bed. “Not all wounds are the same—so it is imperative to have specialised wound care solutions to best manage and treat distinct wounds. The V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Dressing allows for targeted wound cleansing, and has significantly changed the treatment pathway for many of my patients, particularly those with severe wounds who might not be candidates for surgical debridement, or who have wounds in hard-to-treat areas,” said Luis Fernandez, M.D., Christus Trinity Mother Frances Health System for Trauma, Tyler, TX. “Within my practice, I have seen how the therapy can have enormous implications for lowering the total cost of care for patients, clinicians and healthcare systems overall, by potentially reducing the number of operating room visits, decreasing the length of hospital stays, and helping to facilitate faster wound closure time.” Clinical evidence continues to demonstrate the clinical benefits of V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Dressing. In a retrospective analysis on 21 patients with large complex wounds using V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Dressing, after 3 days, most of the fibrinous material and slough present in the wound bed was removed during therapy, with the following results: More than 85% of wounds had less than or equal to 10% surface area, with black non-viable tissue remaining after an average of one to three applications (3-9 days of therapy). More than 57% of wounds had less than or equal to 10% surface area, with yellow fibrinous slough remaining after an average of one to three applications (3-9 days of therapy). More than 95% of wounds displayed rapid granulation tissue formation under the portion of the foam directly in contact with the wound bed. V.A.C. VERAFLO CLEANSE CHOICE Dressing is used in conjunction with V.A.C. VERAFLO Therapy. Together, they work quickly to cleanse contaminated wounds by helping to soften, solubilise, and remove viscous exudate, wet slough, fibrin, and other infectious materials. The unique, three-layer design can be used for wounds with complex geometries, including explored tunnels or undermining where the distal aspect is not visible. The contact layer, with a pattern of 1 cm holes, provides mechanical movement at the wound surface in combination with cyclic delivery and dwell of topical solutions. The two cover layers without holes are designed to help capture large wound exudate before it enters the tubing, and they also provide application options for wounds with varying depths.