Skin substitutes: an overview of the key players in wound management

In a relatively short timespan, a wealth of new skin substitutes made of synthetic and biologically derived materials have arisen for the purpose of wound healing of various etiologies. This review article focuses on providing an overview of skin substitutes including their indications, contraindications, benefits, and limitations. The result of this overview was an appreciation of the vast array of options available for clinicians, many of which did not exist a short time ago. Yet, despite the rapid expansion this field has undergone, no ideal skin substitute is currently available. More research in the field of skin substitutes and wound healing is required not only for the development of new products made of increasingly complex biomolecular material, but also to compare the existing skin substitutes.