The Efficacy of VAMMFT Compared to "Bogota Bag" in Achieving Sheath Closure Following Temporary Abdominal Closure at Index Laparotomy for Trauma

Introduction The open abdomen (OA) is a necessary component of damage control surgery and closure is often challenging. Our aim was to review our ten-year experience with OA in trauma patients and to compare the success of a dual closure technique termed vacuum-assisted, mesh-mediated fascial traction (VAMMFT) to an exclusively Bogota Bag (BB) approach. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed using the HEMR database from 2012 to 2022, comparing demographics, mechanism of injury, admission vitals and biochemistry between patients with BB and VAMMFT applications. Rate of secondary abdominal closure and complications were assessed in both groups. Logistic regression was used to find predictors of closure. Results OA was required by 348 patients at index laparotomy. Of these, 133 (38.2%) were managed with VAMMFT and 215 (61.8%) exclusively with a BB. There were no statistical differences between the BB and VAMMFT groups in terms of demographics, injuries, admission vitals and biochemistry. The VAMMFT group achieved a closure rate of 73% compared to 54.9% in the BB group (OR of 2.2 [1.4–3.7]). There was no significant difference in fistulation rate between the two groups ( p = 0.103). Length of hospital stay was 30 versus 17 days in the VAMMFT and BB groups, respectively (OR 1.41 [1.30–1.54]). There were no independent predictors of closure identified in the VAMMFT group. Older patients were less likely to achieve closure when BB was used (OR 0.97 [0.95–0.99]). VAMMFT failure was commonly due to lack of stock (39%) and protocol violations (33%). Conclusion The VAMMFT approach to the OA is efficacious and safe. VAMMFT achieves a much higher rate of secondary closure than BB alone with a low rate of enteric fistula formation.