Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Negative pressure wound therapy for dog's partially closed chest
By Arai, Shiori et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2025·Veterinary Clinical Sciences Department, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Application of negative pressure wound therapy to partially closed median sternotomy in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old Labrador retriever was brought to the vet after suddenly becoming dull and coughing. Tests showed he had a serious lung infection and needed surgery to remove parts of his lung. Unfortunately, after the first surgery, he developed complications, including a wound infection and fluid buildup in his chest. To help heal the surgical site, the vet used a special treatment called negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), which worked well and allowed the incision to heal properly without further issues.
People also search for: dog coughing after surgery · Labrador pneumonia treatment · negative pressure wound therapy for dogs
Abstract
A 6-year-old Labrador retriever dog with a history of pneumonia was presented because of an acute onset of dull mentation and coughing. Diagnostic imaging and cytology revealed a pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, and pleural effusion, consistent with pyothorax. The dog underwent exploratory sternotomy for lung lobectomy of the right cranial and middle lung lobes. Persistent pneumothorax and pleural effusion were present after surgery, and the sternotomy site dehisced 6 d postoperatively. A second CT scan revealed persistent consolidation of the left cranial lung lobe and continued pneumothorax and pleural effusion. A left cranial lung lobectomy was done on the 8th day following initial surgery. An incisional infection was determined to be associated with multidrug-resistantinfection. Due to persistent pleural and incisional drainage, a third exploratory sternotomy was required, which revealed dehiscence of the surgical site and an unstable sternal repair with fractured sternebrae. The sternotomy site was left partially closed and negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) was applied. No complications with NPWT were encountered, and the incision healed appropriately. Key clinical message: This is the first documented description of the use of NPWT in a dog to successfully manage a partially closed sternotomy and resolve a multidrug-resistant infection of the sternotomy site.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39781411/