Immediate Results of the Use of Split-Thickness Skin Autografts With and Without Acellular Dermal Matrix in Patients with Burns: A Comparative Study in a Colombian Population.

Dermal substitutes have become fundamental tools for covering skin defects, most recently with biological subtypes such as glycerolized acellular dermal matrix (GADM). However, literature regarding this matter is scarce in Latin America and Colombia. In this descriptive observational study, we compared the use of partial skin autografts (PSA) combined with GADM and autografts without GADM. Patients were selected from the burn unit of a hospital in northeastern Colombia between 2021 and 2022. Two study groups were defined: one receiving GADM plus PSA and the other control receiving only a partial split-thickness autograft. A total of 29 patients with 68 body areas were included, with an average age of 20 years. Most cases involved third-degree burns caused by flame. Hospitalization time was the same for both groups (41 days). The percentage of grafts taken was similar in both groups; in the GADM with autografts group, it was 94.7% compared with 96% in the control group. The presence of complications was similar in both groups. GADM produced in local tissue banks is a cost-effective alternative. It can be used in a single surgical procedure without increasing complications, providing a postsurgical course similar to autografts alone. Granting the potential long-term benefits that dermal matrices give for healing in these patients, which should be evaluated in subsequent studies.

In vitro and in vivo evaluation of electrospun poly (ε-caprolactone)/collagen scaffolds and Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells (hWJ-MSCs) constructs as potential alternative for skin tissue engineering.

Dermal substitutes bear a high clinical demand because of their ability to promote the healing process of cutaneous wounds by reducing the healing time the appearance and improving the functionality of the repaired tissue. Despite the increasing development of dermal substitutes, most of them are only composed of biological or biosynthetic matrices. This demonstrates the need for new developments focused on using scaffolds with cells (tissue construct) that promote the production of factors for biological signaling, wound coverage, and general support of the tissue repair process. Here, we fabricate by electrospinning two scaffolds: poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) as a control and poly(ε-caprolactone)/collagen type I (PCol) in a ratio lower collagen than previously reported, 19:1, respectively. Then, characterize their physicochemical and mechanical properties. As we bear in mind the creation of a biologically functional construct, we characterize and assess in vitro the implications of seeding human Wharton's jelly mesenchymal stromal cells (hWJ-MSCs) on both scaffolds. Finally, to determine the potential functionality of the constructs in vivo, their efficiency was evaluated in a porcine biomodel. Our findings demonstrated that collagen incorporation in the scaffolds produces fibers with similar diameters to those in the human native extracellular matrix, increases wettability, and enhances the presence of nitrogen on the scaffold surface, improving cell adhesion and proliferation. These synthetic scaffolds improved the secretion of factors by hWJ-MSCs involved in skin repair processes such as b-FGF and Angiopoietin I and induced its differentiation towards epithelial lineage, as shown by the increased expression of Involucrin and JUP. In vivo experiments confirmed that lesions treated with the PCol/hWJ-MSCs constructs might reproduce a morphological organization that seems relatively equivalent to normal skin. These results suggest that the PCol/hWJ-MSCs construct is a promising alternative for skin lesions repair in the clinic.

Sustitutos dérmicos definidos / Dermal substitutes defined

Son muchas las patologías que producen defectos de piel. El método de elección para la cobertura cutánea de estos defectos es el injerto de piel parcial, sin embargo, en algunos casos sus resultados no son adecuados. Los sustitutos dérmicos son una alternativa de cobertura cutánea, que existen en la actualidad y que permiten obtener mejores resultados funcionales y estéticos. Existen muchos sustitutos dérmicos en el mercado, cada uno con distintas características, beneficios y complicaciones. Esta revisión logra agrupar los aspectos más relevantes de los sustitutos dérmicos para poder tener una base teórica sobre estos productos que son de gran ayuda para poder tratar a pacientes con distintas patologías.

Many are the pathologies that cause skin defects. The gold standard for skin coverage of these defects is the partial skin graft, but in some cases the results are not appropiate. Dermal substitutes are an alternative for skin coverage that exists today and allow get better functional and aesthetic results. There are many dermal substitutes in the pharmaceutical industry, each one with different characteristics, benefits and complications. This review brings together the most important aspects of dermal substitutes to have a theoretical background on these products that are helpful to treat patients with different pathologies.