A number of methods for treating wounds are available on the market today. Specifically, Blue Sky Medical, believed to now be a division of Smith & Nephew, sells equipment utilized to perform the Chariker-Jeter™ method of wound treatment. However, there are not any specific disclosures in the instructions for utilizing that technology for bringing the wound edges towards closure, i.e., bringing the formerly cut edges back together to contain the internal cavity therein.
Louis Argenta and others, working at Wake Forest, have developed a number of wound treatment devices which have subsequently been licensed to a company known as KCI. Argenta, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,636,643, 5,645,081, and 7,198,046 are incorporated herein by reference. In KCI's commercial embodiment, a foam sponge is utilized atop a wound which is then covered and suction applied thereto. While this method works well to treat wounds, a perceived problem with this technology is that the sponge is compressed significantly in all directions. The applicant believes the sponge can actually work act against itself as it relates to bringing the edges of a cut opening together for wound closure. Specifically, while the wound edges are pulled toward one another by the sponge along one axes, the sponge is also significantly compressed in a perpendicular direction thereby potentially hindering the edges from coming together.
Accordingly, there is believed to exist a need for an improved wound enclosure device and method of its use.