Wound Vac's, when did they come off?

I have been wearing my wound vac for 4 weeks today. On Friday my surgeon told me that he thinks he will be able to stitch the hole closed in about 2 weeks.
So, I was curious, did you end up having your hole stitched closed OR did your vac stay on until the hole was almost completely closed, thus requiring no stitching? 
I read Leah's post where she said her hole was almost closed up to the top. I don't think mine is going to be that closed up in 2 weeks. On Friday the depth had only gone from the original 2.5 centinmeters to 2.4 centimeters after 4 weeks. (The length and width though have gotten much smaller than from the beginning.) 
I don't know if it's better to keep the vac on until the hole is almost non-exisitient, or get it stitched closed. So I am looking for other experiences on how their doctors handled the vac situation.
Thanks so much,
Fran

I have been the wound vac journey twice.  Each time the vac was removed when the tissue had filled in the space....otherwise you run the risk of it only healing on the outer layer...leaving a space and potential fluid and infection collection.  Both times they opted to let the hole close on it's own...no stitching.  I am a take charge kind of person...I had to learn to be patient...and trust the expert.  If you have been pleased with your care....maybe the doctor can help you make the best decision for your situation.  Location of the hole determines so much.  Blessings for the removal of the vac and complete healing....

Can you please tell me what the hole is caused by? I am having surgery on the 12th of April

Hi Cindy,
Here is the story behind my hole:
I originally had my surgery (Hernia repair with anchor tt) on the morning of Jan 19th. After I woke up and recovered a bit I thought I should get out of bed and try to walk. I sat on the side of the bed for a bit and then stood up. When I stood up my husband looked down at the floor and said "that doesn't look right". There was blood on the floor and all over the front of my gown. It was coming out of the hole where the drain was. He called the nurses and they helped me lay back down in bed. I don't remember everything that happened after that, but what I do remember is having 4 or 5 nurses and doctors surrounding me. It was determined that I was bleeding on the inside. Something in my abdomen had sprung a leak. They ended up calling my surgeon at midnite and taking me back in to surgery. I was completely opened up again and they found the "bleeder" and cauterized it. But when they closed me back up the skin from below my belly button down to the horizontal incision turned black and died.
Anyhow, to try and make the story shorter, 2 weeks later they ended up removing the blackend dead skin and thus the hole.
I understand that the skin dying (called necrosis) where the vertical incision meets the horizontal incision is a fairly common complication. It doesn't happen a LOT, but it does happen.
It sure has made me think twice about having my arms done. Maybe when this is totally behind me and I am feeling great about my new tummy I might consider the arms again.
Good luck and best wishes in your upcoming surgery. Remember this doesn't happen to everyone, but if it does it is something that can be "fixed".
Fran

Thanks jaylynn.
I was thinking that I should not let him stitch me up until the wound has healed "up" more. I would like to see the depth be almost to the top before we get rid of this vac.
It does keep pulling fluid and I would hate to end up with an infection and having to go through this again.
I will speak with my surgeon next week when I see him about this issue.
Thanks for replying.
Fran

I hope you don't mind me asking....
Is this wound vac used instead of doing the daily "wet/dry" packing of a wound?
I have a wound on my butt cheek (nothing to do with my LBL incision area) that we've been packing.

Thanks!

The purpose of the wound vac, as explained to me, is to increase the rate of healing by removing all the excess fluid/drainage...especially if there is infection present, and most often there is.  There is a postive/negative vacumn force that encourages the healing process.  The "sponge" materials placed in the wound, from which the tubing emerges, has a charcoal based product in it to aid also in healing.  Wound vac's are the most used piece of equipment in wound centers because they reduce healing time and complication rates...not all surgeons rely on wound clinics for their patients follow-up care.  Your surgeon must have his/her preference for the wet/dry packing.  Each time I have been on the wound vac I was also receiving antibiotic treatment at the same time.  Good luck. 

How interesting.  Perhaps because I've had no infection, and therefore no antibiotics, my surgeon choose this method....I'm going to ask him next week just because I'm curious.
Thanks for the great explanation!!

Jaylynn explained it very well. We did (or I should say my husband did) the wet/dry pack for 2 weeks. But it wasn't showing much improvement and it smelled so bad! I was on a antibiotic at that time also. It was finally decided that the wound vac would give the most consistent and quickest healing. It is a pain in the butt at times (cause you wear it 24/7) and having the tape removed every 3 days can be pretty painful. I don't know how often Leah and jaylynn had to have theirs changed but my doctor did it Mon, Wed and Fri for the past 4 weeks. Next week I start going only 2 times a week. They replace the foam and clean it out with sterile water each time I go. And there were a few times when the surgeon actually had to cut out necrotic tissue inside the wound (but they haven't done that for the past 2 weeks).
I am actually thankful that I go that often because I like having my surgeon see it on a regular basis. He doesn't do the actual changing, the nurses do that. He just looks inside and watches the progress.
Fran

I think I won't complain anymore about my wet/dry packing (thankfully Matthew has been a real trooper with doing it for me).

Thanks for sharing all the info...very educational.