Gentian Violet/Methylene Blue Polyvinyl Alcohol Foam (GV/MBPVA foam)* For the Treatment of Abscess Created Wounds

Introduction: The most common chronic wounds involve venous, arterial, diabetic, and pressure injury etiologies. At times, atypical wounds can present for treatment. With these presentations, it may require a provider to consider different approaches to deal with these problems. In this case series of wounds, all of these cases required a different approach to close the wounds created by abscesses.  Methods:The first wound resulted from a surgically excised back abscess; treated with negative pressure wound therapy, which had to be discontinued due to evidence of persistent infection. A GV/MBPVA foam* was applied followed by a superabsorbent dressing.   The second wound also resulted from a surgically excised back abscess placed subsequently on negative pressure wound therapy that had to be discontinued due to the patient having difficulty lying on his back to use his CPAP. A GV/MBPVAfoam* was applied followed by a superabsorbent dressing.   The third wound resulted from an abdominal abscess that when it spontaneously drained, it reopened a 25-year-old healed gastrostomy tube site creating a fistula and she was unable to use negative pressure wound therapy due to her working with food service. The skin around the fistula had significant skin breakdown due to the gastric drainage. The area surrounding the fistula was treated with liquid fluticasone propionate and sealed with cyanoacrylate. A GV/MBPVA foam* was inserted into the fistula, which helped direct drainage away from the skin. A fistula pouch was then inserted over the area.  Results:Although the first wound had significant depth, the wound closed in a month. The second wound closed in six weeks despite having significant depth. The skin surrounding the fistula of the third patient significantly improved after 1 week and treatment continues. Discussion: The GV/MBPVA foam* worked similar to negative pressure wound therapy to close the depth of two wounds in a short amount of time and was more comfortable for the patients. The fistula patient is still being treated but has had significant improvement in her skin breakdown with the use of the foam to direct drainage and help close the fistula. References: