[Morphological and immunohistochemical characteristics of repair processes in nonhealing wounds]

Sluggish wounds (SW) are characterized by chronic inflammation, abnormal proportion of extracellular matrix (ECM) components, appearance of ECM components that do not occur under normal conditions, this preventing formation of basal membrane (BM) and reepithelization of the wound. 89 biopsies from 25 patients with SW were studied before treatment and in different intervals after transplantation of allogenic cryopreserved epithelium on the wound. Decreased collagen type III content and accumulation of tenastcin in combination with low number of myofibroblasts were observed in ECM before the transplantation. Normalization of quantitative and qualitative composition of ECM components, BM formation, wound reepithelization without scarring were noted after the transplantation; myofibroblast number remained very low. Wound healing without contraction and scarring is a distinctive feature of reparative process in SW when allogenic cryopreserved epidermis is used.