A case history of multimodal therapy in healing a complicated diabetic foot wound: negative pressure, dermal replacement and pulsed radio frequency energy therapies

Advanced multimodal therapies are being used with increasing frequency in the management of difficult or complex wounds. Although the primary goal remains to expedite complete healing, secondary goals include avoidance of superimposed infection, repeated hospitalisations and subsequent amputations. We describe a case involving a limb- and life-threatening necrotising infection in a diabetic patient in which we successfully applied negative pressure wound therapy, dermal replacement therapy and pulsed radio frequency energy to achieve definitive healing. Further study is warranted to elucidate the most effective combinations of such therapies to promote healing of similarly complex wounds.