Negative pressure wound therapy significantly improves outcomes in high-risk gastrointestinal surgeries.

• Superficial surgical site infections dropped from 18.1% to 6.4% with NPWT (p=0.04).
• Average hospital stay decreased from 11.2 to 8.9 days (p=0.01).
• Incisional hernia rates fell from 12.8% to 6.4% at one month (p=0.05) and from 16% to 6.4% at one year (p=0.03).

Consider adopting NPWT as a standard for managing surgical wounds in colorectal procedures, particularly due to higher infection risks.