Negative Pressure Wound Therapy

Transcript

There are several reasons why your child may have a negative pressure wound therapy machine applied.  To reduce swelling, ensure joints are resting in a safe way for healing, help stabilise a graft, aid in removing fluid, improve blood flow, Encourage wound repair, reduce bacteria in the wound, protect from external bacteria or maintain a certain position.

Your child will have a gauze dressing covered by a clear film tape. There is a tube that connects from the dressing and attaches to a small device known as a negative pressure wound therapy machine.  This continuously sucks the air from the top of the dressing making it feel hard to touch.

If there is fluid to be removed, you may see it in the canister attached to the machine or through the clear film on the white gauze. There's a small absorbent pillow in the canister, which may pop open. This is nothing to worry about. The machine prefers to be kept upright.  Be careful in not placing the tube near a small child's head, as this could be a suffocation risk.

Wrapping the tubing in towel will make it fatter and less hazardous.  The machine has buttons, but they're locked so your child won't be able to alter the settings. The machine runs on rechargeable battery, which comes with a detachable power cord so it's portable and can be placed in a child's backpack.

The machine has 20 hours of life when fully charged.

The limb is held in this position while the vacuum is turned on, so it's very important that there is enough battery to prevent the machine from turning off to keep everything in place.  If the dressing involves a hand or foot, it has been positioned by the physiotherapists or occupational therapists to ensure it is in the correct position to prevent any harm to the joints or skin.

When your child has initially had the negative pressure wound therapy machine placed on, it may be helpful for you to take a photo of your child's limb to ensure position stays the same. If you think it has changed position, you can take a photo and email it to the burns team to confirm the placement.

The email address is on your appointment card and also on the educational handouts you've been given.

There may be some instances to return to emergency. The machine is alarming, blockage or canister full, unable to seal a leaking dressing, sudden fresh blood ooze visible on the dressing, an increase in pain, redness or smell, unable to stop the alarm tone or the limb has moved from its original position.

Some other things to note. Do not shower when the dressing is on. Never disconnect the tubing or turn the machine off. Ensure some tape is over the joining clamp as a deterrent. The dressing will need to be changed at least once a week and always bring the charger and power cords to your appointments.

Your child will be given pain relief before removing the dressing. It won't be painful but there are some areas where there's been lots of tape adhered so removing it might be uncomfortable.  Problem solving.  If the machine is beeping the screen will usually say warning leak or blockage. If there is a leak, it means air is escaping somewhere around the dressing.

Using the clear tape provided to you, usually the first problem area is where the tape meets the skin.  Place the tape over these areas to cover the whole area.  Other places can be where fingertips or toes could be wriggling and weakening the tape.  If you're still having trouble, you're welcome to come to Emergency for support.

If it starts beeping shortly before you're due to attend clinic and you've run out of tape, sometimes wrapping the limb in cling wrap can help.

Remember, the Burns team are always here to help, so if you can't fix the problem, call the hospital, ask for the Burns Registrar and someone is here to help you.