SKIN SUBSTITUTES IN RECONSTRUCTION SURGERY: THE PRESENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES.

Area of Science:

• Regenerative Medicine
• Biomaterials Science
• Wound Healing

Background:

• 21st-century critical and intensive care advancements have drastically reduced mortality from severe burn injuries.
• The focus of burn care has shifted from mere survival to enhancing the quality of life post-trauma.
• Key concerns include healing full-thickness burn defects and managing scar maturation, appearance, and contracture development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the strategy for the use, application, and development of dermal scaffolds.
• To outline current trends in employing dermal scaffolds for treating full-thickness burns.
• To highlight the benefits of skin substitutes in preventing excessive scarring and contractures.

Main Methods:

• Review of current literature on dermal scaffold applications in burn management.
• Analysis of strategies for scaffold development and clinical use.
• Discussion of emerging trends in regenerative medicine for burn wound healing.

Main Results:

• Dermal scaffolds offer significant benefits in managing full-thickness burns.
• Application of skin substitutes can eliminate or reduce excessive scarring, hypertrophic scars, keloid formation, and contractures.
• Current trends focus on advanced scaffold designs and integration with cellular therapies.

Conclusions:

• Dermal scaffolds represent a key strategy in modern burn management, improving functional and aesthetic outcomes.
• The use of dermal scaffolds is crucial for mitigating long-term complications associated with severe burns.
• Continued development in biomaterials and regenerative approaches promises further improvements in treating full-thickness burns.