Clinical Study The Application of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in the Treatment of Chronic Venous Leg Ulceration: Authors Experience Marek Kucharzewski, 1,2 PaweB MieszczaNski, 3 Katarzyna Wilemska-Kucharzewska, 2 Jakub Taradaj, 4 Andrzej Kuropatnicki, 5,6 and Zbigniew UliwiNski 7 1 Department of Descriptive and Topographic Anatomy, Medical University of Silesia, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland 2 Outpatient Surgery Center No. 2, Specialist Hospital No. 2, Batorego 15, 41-902 Bytom, Poland 3 Department of General Surgery, NZOZ District Hospital, Skłodowskiej-Curie 23, 46-200 Kluczbork, Poland 4 Department of Physiotherapy Basics, Academy of Physical Education in Katowice, Mikołowska 72, 40-065 Katowice, Poland 5 Chair of Euroamerican History and Culture, Pedagogical University of Krakow, Karmelicka 41, 31-128 Krakow, Poland 6 Department of Foreign Languages, Medical University of Silesia, Jordana 19, 41-808 Zabrze, Poland 7 Institute of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Health Sciences, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-317 Kielce, Poland Correspondence should be addressed to Marek Kucharzewski; kucharzewskimarek@poczta.onet.pl Received 31 December 2013; Accepted 12 January 2014; Published 18 February 2014 Academic Editor: Tomasz Urbanek Copyright © 2014 Marek Kucharzewski et al. his is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. he aim of the study was to use negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) in patients with chronic venous leg ulceration. he authors present their experience in treatment of 15 patients whose average ulceration surface area was 62.6 cm 2 . In 10 patients, the ulcers healed within 6 weeks and in the remaining patients within 20 weeks. Based on the results obtained, the authors imply that NPWT is an efective method in the treatment of chronic venous leg. 1. Introduction Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), also known as vacuum assisted closure (VAC), subatmospheric pressure dressing (SPD), vacuum sealing technique (VST), foam suc- tion dressing, sealed surface wound suction (SSS), vacuum pack therapy, and sealing aspirative therapy, is used in the treatment of acute and chronic wounds. he treatment requires a vacuum source to create a continuous or inter- mittent form of negative pressure inside the wound. Doing so removes luid and exudates infectious materials to aid in wound healing and closure [1–3]. here are many documented cases of NPWT in wound healing throughout history. In fact, it is one of the oldest methods used in wound treatment and can be traced back to 400 BC when the Greeks practiced cupping using heated copper bowls. Hippocrates and his followers used “collection vessels” whose openings were heated and applied directly over wounds to draw out and collect blood and luids. Cupping as a vacuum therapy has been used for centuries; however, the technique and design changed as cupping spread west. By the end of the 19th century, Professor August Bier deined the concept of cupping by a method of igniting alcohol within a glass and placing a rubber tube on the skin prior to application of the heated cupping glass. In 1908, Bier’s hyperemic treatment method was described and since then vacuum therapy has been used for the treatment of all types of open wounds (traumatic, chronic, and postoperative) as well as for the treatment of infections [4]. In 1907, Dr. E. Klapp irst used a suction pump for removal of infectious materials in tuberculosis lesions in patient with advanced tuberculosis. In 1952, the use of NPWT with natural sponge, rubber sponge, foam rubber, cellulose sponge, gauze, cotton, and other iller materials was patented in Germany. Hindawi Publishing Corporation BioMed Research International Volume 2014, Article ID 297230, 5 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/297230