Effectiveness of Negative Pressure in Promoting Tissue Growth Into Porous Metal Implants

Extremity War Injuries (EWI) with large open segmental and periarticular defects constitute a high volume and high morbidity challenge for the military trauma management system. Open segmental tibia and elbow fractures caused by Improvised Explosive Device (IED) wounds, are two examples of such injuries. Several problems occur when trying to repair such a wound. The large, gaping wounds make skin closure difficult. Infection is also a prevalent complication typically caused by debris contaminating the wound. Lastly, large amounts of damaged tissue including segmental bone defects make repair difficult.