Karen only just got the wound VAC late today. We typically have very few issues with health insurance, but every now and then, to authorize coverage they want to hear something very specific from the doctor. If we had known it would take this long, we would have tried to pay out of pocket and just fought the insurance over it later. They did finally authorize the wound VAC Friday, but the device had to be shipped from the manufacturer, and it was too late in the day to ship it before the weekend. So it wasn't shipped until Monday, and didn't arrive until today.
The ostomy bag they had set us up with last Tuesday turned out a bit disappointing. It didn't stop the wound from opening up more. I'm not sure why we thought that would do the trick if all the stitches and glue we've tried in the past hadn't worked. The wound also drains out of places that look healed, so it was also hard to position it in a way that would catch all the drainage. The wound VAC is a much wider seal, and even without the added health benefits, it helps immensely with the drainage. It would have saved us so much trouble over the past week. As it is, the surgery is only a few days off now.
The goal for the VAC was never to heal the wound closed. I don't think it was impossible, and that would have been great, but it really did seem the body wasn't going to allow it with the ongoing infection. The goal, rather, was to heal the skin around the wound so that it could be reused instead of removed during surgery. If it were helping, the surgery could have been pushed off to allow further healing. Now there probably won't be enough time before the surgery to make such a decision.
In the end it took a whole week to get the VAC. It might not have made any difference getting it earlier, but this is one of the few instances where I feel truly let down by the system. The doctor let the resident write up the order. The resident took too long doing it. Then the insurance wouldn't accept anything from a resident. After everything had been approved, rather than having one of the devices on hand, Mayo Clinic had to order it from the manufacturer. I can only imagine how frustrating this would be for someone losing a foot to an ulcer.
