Table 2.

Methods of temporary abdominal closures

Commercial temporary abdominal closure techniques	Description
ABTHERA™ Open Abdomen Negative Pressure Therapy System (KCI, an ACELITY Company, San Antonio, TX)	Use of a visceral protective layer, a non‐adherent fenestrated polyurethane dressing and a perforated foam that delivers negative pressure therapy
Wittman Patch™ (Starsurgical, Inc., Burlington, WI)	A hook and loop prosthetic are placed over the abdomen, and closure is achieved by overlapping the hook and loop sheets
Non‐commercial temporary abdominal closure techniques
Towel clips	Use of surgical clips to perform skin‐only closure
Bogotá bag	Use of an open intravenous bag that is sutured to the skin
Mesh	Absorbable mesh is placed over abdominal contents, which is followed by gauze packing
Barker's vacuum packing technique	Use of a fenestrated, non‐adherent polyethylene sheet placed over the viscera with moist surgical towels as coverage; two silicone drains over the towels are inserted, and continuous wall suction is used to remove fluid