In November 2016, Calvary Mater Newcastle patient Greg was admitted to hospital with a badly infected leg. It was necessary to remove infected tissue from a site in the leg where cancer had been removed some eight years earlier. Removal of the tissue resulted in a wound that would be difficult to heal due to the effects of six weeks of radiotherapy that followed the cancer operation. 

After nearly five weeks in hospital having the wound treated, Greg was able to be discharged thanks to the availability of one of three portable Vacuum-Assisted Closure (VAC) machines which were purchased with 2016 Dry July funding.

The VAC machine has benefitted Greg’s recovery significantly. The machine is a proven, non-invasive, advanced approach to negative pressure wound therapy to remove fluid from a wound or operation site and assist with wound healing. Without the VAC machine, Greg would need to be seen by a community nurse every day to drain the wound on his leg and change his dressings.

Greg comments, “The VAC machine only needs to be changed three times a week, giving me more freedom to do normal, everyday activities and reducing the inconvenience of waiting at home for extended periods of time.”

If the VAC machine was not available to Greg, there is a possibility he could be spending weeks, even months in and out of hospital, to treat the wound. The lightweight, portable machine has greatly reduced the size and depth of the wound, improved patient comfort and given Greg a better quality of life with less stresses on how to manage his wound and his life.

“I really appreciate the support Dry Julyers have given to Calvary Mater Newcastle. The Dry July funding used to purchase the VAC machines means that I am able to keep my wound under control in the comfort of my own environment and, there is the possibility of wound closure without further surgery. Besides, I can now say I have a manbag,” he said.