State-of-the-art wound healing: skin substitutes for chronic wounds

The care of chronic wounds represents an important and evolving area of dermatology. With a rising prevalence of chronic wounds bearing notable effects on patient morbidity including amputations, appropriate and effective intervention to treat these debilitating wounds can make a significant clinical impact. In recent years, several advanced bioactive wound dressings have been developed to specifically treat chronic nonhealing wounds. These wound dressings encompass a wide range of products containing synthetic matrix scaffolds, animal-derived matrices, and human tissue. With several of these wound dressings, randomized controlled trials (RCTs) have demonstrated improvement in wound healing; furthermore, cost-effectiveness studies have suggested that these products may reduce the overall cost of treating a chronic wound. Familiarity with these products and their appropriate use may be helpful to dermatologists treating chronic wounds.