Back on His Feet

What started out as a typical college soccer game quickly turned into a painful nightmare for 19-year-old Chris Berggren. During an aggressive move for the ball, an opponent’s kick landed squarely on Chris’ leg, breaking it below the knee. Chris was worried he might never play soccer again, but his broken leg would end up being the least of his worries. Instead, the surgery to repair his leg would lead to a chronic, non-healing wound that kept him immobilized for months and nearly led to amputation. Fortunately for Chris, he was able to take advantage of an advanced therapy that healed the wound and allowed him to walk again.

Chris’ doctors discovered he had a broken tibia and fibula causing a secondary condition that severely restricted blood flow to his leg. Injuries like these can lead to severe infection and, in some cases, even amputation. Within hours of his diagnosis, Chris underwent surgery to alleviate the pressure in his leg. Little did Chris and his physicians know that one of his calf incisions would refuse to heal and, months later, develop into a chronic wound.

The Enormous Burden of Chronic Wounds in the U.S.
Americans afflicted with chronic wounds
(leg ulcers, pressure ulcers, diabetic
foot ulcers and burns)		5 to 7 million1
Estimated cost of chronic wounds$20 billion annually2,3

Annually in America, the total direct cost of chronic wounds, including wound diagnostic and surgical procedures, pharmaceuticals, wound closure devices and hospital and physician charges, amounts to an estimated $20 billion. The indirect costs of chronic wounds, such as lost work time and impaired quality of life, are not included in this estimate and are difficult to quantify.

Chris was unable to walk for months as he endured numerous procedures to try to heal his calf wound. Finally, after the fifth failed procedure, his plastic surgeon decided to use a new wound-management technology on his leg, called negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT).

From a Non-Healing to a Healed Wound

NPWT uses a controlled vacuum system to carefully and systematically remove infectious materials and other fluids from the wound. Chris returned home a few days later and shortly thereafter switched to a smaller, battery-powered NPWT unit. The wound began to heal rapidly, dramatically improving in appearance and size.

A few months later, Chris no longer needed the NPWT system and was soon able to walk again. While he cannot yet run or play soccer, he knows that without the device he might have had to endure more pain and surgeries, including possible amputation.

Until recently, chronic wound management has been limited to bandages and medications, which can lead to very slow and painful recovery processes, increased spread of infections and longer hospital stays. Faster, more reliable and increasingly cost-effective wound management treatments are now available and can significantly reduce patient complications and overall costs, while preventing chronic wounds from recurring.

Medical Technology Advances Wound Treatment

Medical technology has dramatically improved chronic wound care and healing, benefiting patients and the healthcare system. Some widely-used advanced therapies include bioengineered skin substitutes, electrical stimulation, advanced drug delivery systems, materials that repair tissue (platelet-derived and autologous growth factor) and ultrasounds. These therapies have been proven cost-effective.

Improved Outcomes With Advanced Wound Management Technologies
  • More than 1,000 Medicare beneficiaries who failed to respond to conventional treatments had more than twice as great a reduction in the size of their wounds when using NPWT, with a treatment cost that was 38% less.4
  • 56% of diabetic foot ulcers treated with a living, bi-layered skin substitute plus conventional therapy healed in 65 days vs. 39% that healed in 90 days with conventional therapy alone.5
  • Patients with spinal cord injury had their pressure ulcers heal in 13 days on average with electrical stimulation vs. 31.5 days with standard wound care.6

Chris is making progress every day and looks forward to playing soccer again soon. Since this procedure, he has been able to return to work and get back to doing the things he loves to do.

  1. Petrie N, Yao F, Eriksson E. “Gene therapy in wound healing.” Surgical Clinics of North America 83(3) (2003):194-9.
  2. Frykberg R, Armstrong D, Giurini J, et al. “Diabetic foot disorders: a clinical practice guideline.” J Foot Ankle Surg 39(5 Suppl) (2000):1-60.
  3. Harding K, Morris H, Patel G. “Science, medicine and the future: healing chronic wounds.” BMJ 324(7330) (2002):160-3.
  4. Philbeck TE, KT, Millsap MH, et al. “The clinical and cost effectiveness of externally applied negative pressure wound therapy in the treatment of wounds in home healthcare Medicare patients.” Ostomy Wound Manage 45 (11) (1999):41–50.
  5. Harrington C, Zagari M, Corea J, et al. “A cost analysis of diabetic lower-extremity ulcers.” Diabetes Care 23(9) (2000):1333-1338.
  6. McGuckin M, Waterman R, Brooks J, et al. “Validation of venous leg ulcer guidelines in the United States and United Kingdom.” American Journal of Surgery 183(2)


Chris will be able to play soccer again even though he suffers from chronic wounds. Read more on how advanced technology improves lives.
Value: Medical technology lowers social costs by getting people back to work and life. Dependability: Using the highest safety standards, medical technology improves patient outcomes. Innovation: The unique interaction between patients, physicians, medical innovators and legislative champions drives breakthroughs in medical technology.