Comparison Between Wound Vacuum Dressing and Standard Closure to Reduce Rates of Surgical Site Infections

Pancreaticoduodenectomy is associated with high perioperative morbidity, with surgical site infection (SSIs) being one of the most common complications. A retrospective study at Hopkins on SSIs in these patients identified the rate of SSIs to be 16.7% and pre-operative bile stent/drain and neoadjuvant chemotherapy were independent predictors of surgical site infection. Patients with these factors having a predicted risk of up to 32%. Another subsequent retrospective study demonstrated that the use of negative pressure wound therapy device was significantly associated with a decrease in the rate of SSIs. The hypothesis of the investigator(s) for the current study is that placement of Prevena Peel \& Place Dressing (Negative Pressure Wound Therapy, NPWT) in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy who are at high risk of SSIs will result in a significant decrease in their SSI rate.