Abstract:

Persistence of skin wounds due to underlying disease, bacterial contamination, and/or repeated trauma, causes a chronic condition where a functional extracellular matrix (ECM) cannot be established and the normal wound-healing cascade is unable to progress. These open chronic wounds leave the body susceptible to infection and present a major healthcare problem. To this end, a broad range of biologic ECM scaffolds have been developed that can provide other therapeutic options aside from traditional wound care approaches. These tissue engineered ECM scaffolds aim to facilitate the restoration of functional skin-like tissue by altering the chronic wound environment and facilitating cellular attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. This discussion will center on reviewing current ECM scaffolds and highlighting their properties and mechanism of action with respect to the clinical application in chronic, non-healing wounds.

Authors:

Thais O. Polanco, MD, Vascular Surgery Research Fellow, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-West Hospitals, New York, NY,Joanna Xylas, PhD, Professional Affairs and Medical Education, Regenerative Orthopedics & Tissue Technologies, Integra LifeSciences, Plainsboro, NJ, John C. Lantis II, MD, Vice Chairman Department of Surgery, Chief of Vascular/Endovascular Surgery, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s-West Hospitals, New York, NY

For Direct IP Access please click this link