Plastic wound protectors do not affect wound XXXX rates following laparoscopic-assisted colectomy.

@entity1 @entity66 @entity1127 @entity5 @entity254 @entity281 @entity4436 @entity30
BACKGROUND: Wound protectors are plastic sheaths that can be used to line a wound during surgery. Wound protectors can facilitate retraction of an incision without the need for other mechanical retractors and have been proposed as deterrents to wound @entity281 . The purpose of this study was to define the ability of wound protectors to reduce the rate of @entity281 when used in laparoscopic-assisted colectomy. METHODS: We completed a retrospective review of the medical records of @entity1 undergoing nonemergent laparoscopic-assisted colectomy between February 1999 and November 2002. All completely laparoscopic cases were excluded. The wound protector, when used, was applied to the extraction incision during the externalized portion of the procedure (colon and mesentery transection, @entity254 ). Outcomes for @entity1 with and without the use of a wound protector were compared. RESULTS: A total of 141 @entity1 underwent laparoscopic-assisted colectomy (98 for benign/ @entity5 , 35 for @entity66 , and eight for @entity30 ). There were no differences between the wound protector group ( n = 84) and the no wound protector group ( n = 57) with respect to mean age (55 vs 58 years), average body mass index (27 vs 29 kg/m2), gender, indication for surgery, comorbidities, antibiotics used, or mean operative time (185 vs 173 min). Nine @entity1 in the wound protector group and eight in the no wound protector group developed a wound @entity281 at the colon extraction site ( p = 0.42). @entity1 undergoing resection for @entity30 or @entity4436 had a higher @entity281 rate (18.6%) than @entity1 undergoing resection for @entity1127 or @entity5 (9.2%; p < 0.05). No wound recurrence of @entity5 was observed in either group at a mean follow-up of 23 months (range, 3-48). CONCLUSIONS: The wound protector, although useful for mechanical retraction of small wounds, does not significantly diminish the rate of wound @entity281 at the bowel resection/anastomotic site. @entity1 undergoing elective resection for inflammatory processes have higher @entity281 rates than @entity1 undergoing laparoscopic-assisted colectomy for @entity1127 or @entity5 .
