PICO Negative Pressure Wound Therapy in Obese Women Undergoing Elective Cesarean Delivery.

The PICO unit is a single patient use, battery-powered, disposable unit that can provide continuous 80 - 125 mmHg negative pressure over a 5 to 7-day therapy period.The dressing is applied to the wound and extra strips are placed over the outside edge to help hold the dressing in place. When the pump is turned on, air is pulled out of the dressing and excess fluid from the wound will start to enter the dressing.

The standard-of-care is consistent with the national standard for dressing Cesarean section incisions and includes, but not limited to, coverage of the sutured incision with sterile gauze and non-penetrable barrier (e.g., Tegaderm™). The non-penetrable barrier may be left in place for a minimum of 1 day and no longer than 2 days (± 4 hours) to promote epithelialization of the surgical incision edges. After the dressing is removed, the surgical site is left exposed to air to promote further healing