HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Timmy W K Au Clement S W Chiu Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ho, C. K L Articles by Chiu, C. S W Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Ho, C. K L Articles by Chiu, C. S W Related Collections Coronary disease

Pneumatic Pump Reduces Leg Wound Complications in Cardiac Patients

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Grantham Hospital, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

For reprint information contact: Cally KL Ho, MRCS, Tel: 852 2518 2639, Fax: 852 2553 3436, Email: callykalai{at}yahoo.com, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, 3/F Grantham Hospital, 125 Wong Chuk Hang Road, Hong Kong, China.

Leg wound complications at the site of vein harvest for coronary artery bypass graft, although infrequent, cause significant morbidity. Pneumatic pressure therapy is valuable in venous and lymphatic diseases, but its usefulness after leg vein harvest has not been determined. A prospective randomized controlled trial was conducted on 200 patients, half of whom had sequential pneumatic leg pump therapy postoperatively. Wound healing, extent of lower limb edema, patient satisfaction, and the financial implications of pneumatic pressure therapy were assessed. In the study group, 71 patients had satisfactory wound healing vs. 23 in the control group. The leg wound infection rate in the study group was 3% vs. 15% in the control group ( p = 0.003). Lower limb edema was significantly reduced in the study group in the early postoperative period ( p < 0.05), and the mean postoperative length of hospital stay was reduced by 2.6 days in patients given pneumatic pressure therapy ( p = 0.003). The sequential pneumatic leg pump is an effective, inexpensive, and convenient device that reduces leg wound complications after coronary artery bypass grafting.