A tissue closure treatment system and method are provided with an externalpatient interface. A first fluid transfer component FTCl comprises a strip ofporous material, such as rayon, with liquid wicking properties. FTCl can beplaced directly on a suture line for transferring fluid exuded therethrough.An underdrape is placed over FTCl and includes a slot exposing a portion ofsame. FTC.2 comprises a suitable hydrophobic foam material, such aspolyurethane ether, and is placed over the underdrape slot in communicationwith FTCl. Negative pressure is applied to FTC2 through a connecting fluidtransfer component FTC.3. A negative pressure source can comprises a manualdevice or a power-operated suction device. The tissue closure method includesa manual operating mode using a manual suction device with an automatic shutoff for discontinuing suction when a predetermined volume of fluid has beendrained. An automatic operating mode utilizes a microprocessor, which can bepreprogrammed to respond to various patient and operating conditions. Themethod proceeds through several phases with different components in place anddifferent patient interface functions occurring in each.
