Background and objective

Fasciotomy is the treatment of choice for compartment syndrome, pathology that puts the limbs at risk and even the life of the patient. Once the decompression of the compartments is done, the challenge is to close the wound by first intention, however, the retraction of the tissues makes this option not possible and must resort to reconstructive procedures such as skin grafting. The same situation arises when dealing with complex wounds.

We present our experience with a new technique to allow primary closure by reducing tissue tension and tissue damage in a simple, accessible and inexpensive way.

Methods

We conduct a retrospective study of 35 patients with diverse lesions, coverage defects and/or fasciotomies in whom our closure technique called Bowstring Technique was performed, using Kirschner wires and non-absorbable sutures as a bowstring bridge manner.

Results

We achieved primary closure with our technique in 33 patients; 2 patients needed vacuum assisted closure and skin graft to cover the defect.

Conclusions

In our experience, our technique represents an effective, safe, simple and economical way to close complex wounds and/or fasciotomies.

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