Exposed tissues such as tendon or bone
are not damaged;
» Dressing materials are not left to
embed into granulation tissue;
» Drains do not cause pressure damage;
» Patients and staff are familiar with the
functionality of the pump;
» Foam/gauze does not come into contact
with intact skin;
» Intact skin is lined with film dressing if
foam needs to extend onto it, for
example with small wounds or when
bridging more than one wound;
» When more than one piece of foam or
gauze are used no gaps are left between
the pieces;
» An airtight seal is created using film
dressing (Chariker et al, 1989) – this
may require adhesive gel provided by
the manufacturer or stoma paste to
help facilitate a seal in awkward areas
of the body (Fig 1);
» For drains secured on top of the
dressing, if the drain port is larger than
the wound, it must not extend beyond
the dressing margin onto skin, to
prevent pressure damage.