One method for treating a retracted stoma is a vacuum dressing that cleans the
wound and protects against intestinal leakage. This case series describes the use of an integrated, single-use
negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) dressing to treat retracted stomas as an alternative to other noninvasive remedies. The report includes seven patients who were hospitalized in the authors' surgical department from 2019 to 2020. All patients developed severe peristomal
infection that failed to respond to local treatment with proper
ostomy appliances or specialist dressings. After cleaning each
wound and removing necrotic lesions, the authors applied a single-use hydrofiber NPWT dressing to each patient. The dressing was changed every 2 to 5 days, depending on the effects of the
therapy. The stoma orifice was covered with a bag with two-piece
ostomy systems. The peristomal
wound healed in all cases, and leakage was eliminated. The mean time of treatment was 14 days (range, 10-21 days), and the vacuum dressings were changed an average of four times (range, 3-7 times). None of the patients required a stoma translocation or other additional surgery. Three patients received systemic IV
antibiotic therapy to treat general
infection. Single-use NPWT dressings protect peristomal
wounds from bowel leakage and do not hinder the application of stoma bags. This system, similar to standard NPWT devices, effectively protects infected stomas from retraction.