
Prophylactic NPWT to Reduce SSI in Colorectal Surgery
Surgical Wound InfectionThe purpose of this study is to see if the Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) system is effective and safe for the prevention of superficial and deep incisional surgical site infections (SSI) in high risk patients within 30 days after elective colorectal surgery. It has been shown that patients with an IBD, patients undergoing a reoperation or patients with certain comorbidities are at a higher risk of developing an SSI. The NPWT device is a wound dressing with a vacuum system that can be placed over abdominal wounds. The study will include up to 400 patients at this single site, where these high risk patients will be randomized to receive either one of two arms. The first arm involves the placement of the NPWT device in the immediate postoperative period over abdominal wounds after clean/contaminated colorectal surgical procedures. The device would then be left on for 5 days. The second arm would be standard of care and would entail routine postoperative protocols. Subjects will then be seen once at a 30 day (± 7 days) follow-up visit to assess for the development of SSIs.

Does Antibiotics Use During Surgery Help to Decrease Wound Infection and Increase Success After...
Post Operative Wound InfectionGraft Uptake1 moreThis study assess whether there is any role of antibiotics to decrease wound infection and increase the success of surgery

Use of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Morbidly Obese Women After Cesarean Delivery
ObesityMorbid2 moreObese women are more likely have a cesarean delivery and develop subsequent wound complications than normal weight women. Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has been shown to improve surgical wound healing, but this device has not been adequately studied in cesarean deliveries. The aim of our study is to determine the efficacy of NPWT in morbidly obese women after cesarean delivery. Investigators will be randomizing women with a BMI > 40 kg/m2 in a 1:1 ratio to either NPWT (the PREVENA Incision management therapy system Pre 1001 Us) or standard dressing after their cesarean delivery at MedStar Washington Hospital Center. The NPWT will be left in place for a minimum of four days but not to exceed seven days. The standard dressing is typically removed on postoperative day one or two. The primary outcome is a wound complication defined as the formation of a wound infection, seroma, hematoma, separation, or dehiscence from delivery to 4 weeks postpartum. Investigators will also administer a patient satisfaction survey regarding their wound healing experience.

Class iv Versus Class Iiib Laser Therapy on Median Sternotomy Healing After Coronary Artery Bybass...
WoundWound Heal1 moreLASER therapy is potent physiotherapy modalities, providing better sternotomy healing for patients who have undergone CABG surgery, compared with traditional wound care management alone. HLLT and LLLT were found to be the most effective methods for sternotomy healing post-CABG surgery, with HLLT offering superior performance in the case of the high deep penetration and significance less time needed to deliver the same joules/ cm compared to LLLT used for the wound site.

Topical Use of Vancomycin in Reducing Sternal Wound Infection in Cardiac Surgery (SWI Trial)
INFECTIONThe purpose of this research is to determine if using the antibiotic vancomycin as a preventative topical (on the surface of the skin) treatment during open-heart surgery will reduce the risk of developing a sternal wound infection.

Topical Silver for Prevention of Wound Infection After Cesarean Delivery
Wound InfectionA common concern in any surgical procedure is the occurrence of infection. Silver-containing treatments are popular and used in wound treatment; however, there is presently little evidence of the effectiveness of silver-containing treatment for the prevention of obstetrical wound infection. We plan to investigate the rate of infection in women experiencing cesarean sections at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) by comparing the infection rate based on a randomized choice of silver-containing wound dressings to soft cloth adhesive wound dressings.

Polypropylene Mesh Versus Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) Mesh in Inguinal Hernia Repair
Physical FunctionPain4 moreTo evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Lichtenstein's hernioplasty using Infinit® PTFE Mesh, and to compare it with the traditional Lichtenstein procedure performed with polypropylene mesh.

Acupuncture and Post-Surgical Wound Healing
Postoperative ComplicationsSurgical Wound Infection1 moreThe purpose of this study is to determine if acupuncture improves wound healing. Since we, the investigators at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), know that how much oxygen is delivered to tissue is the best predictor of how well a wound will heal, we are measuring changes in tissue oxygen of wounds before and after acupuncture treatments. We are focusing on the leg wounds of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) patients who have their saphenous veins harvested in an open fashion since this is a fairly well controlled patient model.

The Clinical Efficacy of Next Science Wound Gel (NXTSC) in the Healing of Chronic Wounds
Wound InfectionDetermine the effect on wound treatment outcomes using a novel antimicrobial wound gel (NXTSC) for the treatment of infected wounds as the sole topical treatment of microbial infection at the wound site.

S. Aureus Screening and Decolonization
Wound Infection Due to Staphylococcus AureusMRSA Infection of Postoperative WoundStaphylococcus aureus (SA) healthcare-associated infections (HAI) cause significant morbidity and mortality. SA causes 15% of all HAI and 30% of surgical site infections (SSIs). Each year over 40 million Americans undergo operations, 1-10% of whom will acquire SSIs. Such infections double the length of hospitalization and risk of dying, and increase U.S. health care costs by $5-10 billion/year. We need effective interventions to prevent SSIs caused by either methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) or methicillin-resistant (MRSA) strains. Nasal carriers of SA (25-30% of adults) have a 2-14 times greater risk than non-carriers of acquiring an SA SSI. A potential prevention approach is routine pre-operative screening of patients, followed by decolonization of identified SA carriers.