59 research outputs found

    Degloving injuries and flap viability assessment

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    Degloving injuries are associated with major morbidity. The management of these injuries is still not resolved. The method of management used by the authors involves the harvesting of split skin from the surface of the flap and assessment of flap viability based on surface dennal capillary bleeding. The skin grafts are then used to cover denuded areas. This technique has proved to be effective, time-saving and morbidity-reducing in the cases reviewed here and in recent publications.The issue addressed in this trial was the effect of partial de-epithelialisation on the survival length of a flap. Two groups of dorsal rat flaps were compared. In one group, the flaps were raised and restitched after a period of time and in the second group, the surfaces of identical flaps were partially de-epithelialised and then restitched. The survival length of these flaps was compared, as well as the metabolic responses to surgery in the two groups. No statistically significant differences were found in these 2 groups. It was concluded that partial de-epithelialisation did not have a detrimental effect on duration of flap length survival, thus encouraging the continued use of the clinical technique described above in the handling of degloving injuries

    Endothelial progenitor cells and burn injury - exploring the relationship.

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    Burn wounds result in varying degrees of soft tissue damage that are typically graded clinically. Recently a key participant in neovascularization, the endothelial progenitor cell, has been the subject of intense cardiovascular research to explore whether it can serve as a biomarker for vascular injury. In this review, we examine the identity of the endothelial progenitor cell as well as the evidence that support its role as a key responder after burn insult. While there is conflicting evidence with regards to the delta of endothelial progenitor cell mobilization and burn severity, it is clear that they play an important role in wound healing. Systematic and controlled studies are needed to clarify this relationship, and whether this population can serve as a biomarker for burn severity

    The burn wound exudate—An under-utilized resource

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    INTRODUCTION: The burn wound exudate represents the burn tissue microenvironment. Extracting information from the exudate relating to cellular components, signaling mediators and protein content can provide much needed data relating to the local tissue damage, depth of the wound and probable systemic complications. This review examines the scientific data extracted from burn wound exudates over the years and proposes new investigations that will provide useful information from this underutilized resource. METHOD: A literature review was conducted using the electronic database PubMed to search for literature pertaining to burn wound or blister fluid analysis. Key words included burn exudate, blister fluid, wound exudate, cytokine burn fluid, subeschar fluid, cytokine burns, serum cytokines. 32 relevant article were examined and 29 selected as relevant to the review. 3 papers were discarded due to questionable methodology or conclusions. The reports were assessed for their affect on management decisions and diagnostics. Furthermore, traditional blood level analysis of these mediators was made to compare the accuracy of blood versus exudate in burn wound management. Extrapolations are made for new possibilities of burn wound exudate analysis. RESULTS: Studies pertaining to burn wound exudate, subeschar fluid and blister fluid analyses may have contributed to burn wound management decisions particularly related to escharectomies and early burn wound excision. In addition, information from these studies have the potential to impact on areas such as healing, scarring, burn wound conversion and burn wound depth analysis. CONCLUSION: Burn wound exudate analysis has proven useful in burn wound management decisions. It appears to offer a far more accurate reflection of the burn wound pathophysiology than the traditional blood/serum investigations undertaken in the past. New approaches to diagnostics and treatment efficacy assessment are possible utilizing data from this fluid. Burn wound exudate is a useful, currently under-utilized resource that is likely to take a more prominent role in burn wound management

    Developing a Topical Adjunct to Injectable Procedures.

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