SKIN SUBSTITUTES IN RECONSTRUCTION SURGERY: THE PRESENT AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

The progress in critical and intensive care burn management in the 21st century has significantly reduced mortality in patients with critical burn injuries. This progress has moved the focus of burns care from simple survival to the quality of life after the burn trauma, in particular to healing of defects caused by full-thickness burns, subsequent maturation, characteristics and appearance of the scars. The benefits of the application of skin substitutes include elimination of excessive scarring, hypertrophic and keloid scar formation and subsequent contracture development. The authors of this article present the strategy of use, application and development of dermal scaffolds as well as the current trends in the use of dermal scaffolds in the treatment of full-thickness burns.