The clinical benefits of using the VENTEX
Wound Dressing System (VWDS) (The Kendall Co.) in the management of donor site
wounds were evaluated in this pilot study involving 10 informed and consenting patients. The study was a prospective, randomized, controlled study in which one donor site
wound was managed with VWDS, and the other donor site
wound on the same patient was managed by our standard of care, which involved the use of
Xeroform gauze (The Kendall Co.). Each donor site
wound was independently assessed daily for
pain, rate of reepithelialization, adverse reactions, and ease of dressing use while patients were hospitalized. Quality of
scar was assessed during regularly scheduled follow-up visits. The use of VWDS eliminated donor site
pain and accelerated reepithelialization compared with
Xeroform gauze. There were no adverse reactions associated with the use of VWDS. In contrast, there were two cases of suspected
infection at the donor sites treated with
Xeroform gauze. The VWDS was more complicated to apply and use compared with
Xeroform gauze. There were no differences observed in
scar quality of donor sites treated with these dressings.