The application of glycerol-preserved skin allograft in the treatment of burn injuries: An analysis based on indications

Introduction

Glycerol-preserved skin allograft (GPA) plays a crucial role in the management of burns. Its indications include wound-bed preparation, definitive dressing and sandwich grafting technique.

Objective

We analysed the experience of using GPA and its efficacy in burn treatment in our burn centre.

Methods

All burns managed with GPA in our burn centre from October 2001 to May 2008 were analysed.

Results

Mean total body surface area (TBSA) of 43 consecutive cases was 28.7%. GPA adhered to the wound for an average of 8.4 days before rejection. The length of hospital stay of the survivors was 42.5 days. The autograft take after wound-bed preparation with GPA was 88.4%. For sandwich grafting technique, the autograft take was 74.4%. When GPA was applied for partial-thickness burn as definitive dressing, all patients achieved complete healing within an average of 19 days without further surgical intervention. Despite colonisation of burn wounds after application of skin allograft, the outcomes of autograft take and wound healing were not significantly different.

Conclusion

The selective and strategic use of the GPA in major burn patients ensures optimal benefits in the management of burns. It is versatile in various categories of burn wounds with minimal morbidity.     

The use of cultured epithelial autograft in the treatment of major burn wounds: eleven years of clinical experience

INTRODUCTION: In patients with burns involving over 50% total body surface area (TBSA), donor skin is limited. Tissue engineering, particularly cultured epithelial autograft (CEA), offers a potential solution to assist in expedient wound closure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prior to 1994, the application of CEA was restricted to confluent cell sheets. The introduction of an autologous cell suspension (CellSpray) in 1994 enabled cells to be delivered to the wound via aerosol onto debrided burn and donor skin graft wound areas. This retrospective clinical audit of major burn injured patients (n=84) describes the use of CEA in those with over 50%TBSA in Western Australia (WA) between 1992 and 2002. RESULTS: The initial introduction of CEA was as confluent sheets, as this evolved to the use of CEA in suspension there was a reduction in the required surgical intervention and total length of stay (TLOS) divided by %TBSA. DISCUSSION: With the audit covering an 11-year period, many facets of clinical burn care have evolved. The WA experience has demonstrated CEA has been positively integrated into clinical practice in association with traditional wound care techniques of skin grafting to augment wound healing.     

Immunosuppression and temporary skin transplantation in the treatment of massive third degree burns.

A method of burn treatment (immunosuppression and temporary skin transplantation) for patients suffering from massive third degree burns is evaluated. The method is based on the prompt excision of all dead tissue (burn eschar) and immediate closure of the wound by skin grafts. Total wound closure is achieved before bacterial infection or organ failure takes place by carrying out all initial excision and grafting procedures within the first ten days post burn and supplementing the limited amount of autograft with allograft. Continuous wound closure is maintained for up to 50 days through immunosuppression. Both azathioprine and ATG have been used but ATG is preferred. During the period of immunosuppression, allograft is stepwise excised and replaced with autograft donor sites regenerate for recropping. Bacterial complications are minimized by housing the patient in the protected environment of the Bacteria Controlled Nursing Unit. Intensive protein and calorie alimentation are provided, and 0.5% aqueous AgNO3 dressings are used. A swinging febrile illness has been associated with large areas of allograft rejection. Eleven children have been treated and seven have been returned to normal, productive schooling.     

Treatment of full-thickness burn by planned replacement using glutaraldehyde porcine skin with an autograft

Forty burn patients were treated in last two years by the method of covering excised or tangentially excised wound with lyophilized glutaraldehyde pigskin, and then planned replacing by autograft skin according to patient's condition. The result showed that the survival rate of the patients was 92.5%. Patients with burn area less than 92% TBSA or third-degree wound less than 81% TBSA survived. This method is effective for stabilizing patient's condition; helping to resolve the problem of limited donor area of extensive burn; extending the usage of meshed skin graft; increasing the taken-rate of autograft skin; improving cosmetic appearance and recovering function. Some disadvantages of this method were also discussed in the paper.     

微粒皮移植治疗大面积深度烧伤后关节瘢痕挛缩的初步体会

目的 探讨大面积深度烧伤病人自体微粒皮与大张异体皮移植术治疗关节部位瘢痕挛缩的方法.方法 选择大面积深度烧伤后期瘢痕严重增生挛缩造成关节畸形而自体皮匮乏的病人11例,共31个关节,在全麻下切除部分瘢痕,彻底松解,矫正关节畸形,用微粒皮加异体皮覆盖创面,术后进行植皮区压迫和早期功能锻炼.随访12个月以上.通过术前、术后的皮肤外观、关节功能、组织学观察等进行效果评价.结果 微粒皮移植者皮肤外观及关节功能明显改善;组织学可见表皮较厚,部分可见表皮脚,真皮层较薄,胶原纤维排列较有规律.结论 微粒皮加大张异体皮移植术可用于治疗大面积深度烧伤病人关节部位瘢痕挛缩.     

Artificial skin, split-thickness autograft and cultured autologous keratinocytes combined to treat a severe burn injury of 93% of TBSA

Despite refinements in burn shock resuscitation, improvements in surgical techniques, advances in intensive care medicine and the presence of very expert surgeons, the treatement of patients with severe burns exceeding 60% TBSA remains a big challenge. A major problem in the treatment of severe burn injuries is the lack of autologous skin. In selected cases cultured epidermal autograft (CEA) may be used. However, they are available only 2-3 weeks after biopsy, thus requiring a temporary wound closure after necrosectomy. A new option is Integra(TM), an artificial skin consisting of a bilayer membrane system. The three-dimensional porous matrix from bovine tendon collagen and a glycosaminoglycan layer is covered by a silicon sheet. The latter prevents fluid loss from the wounds and serves as a barrier against germ invasion. After adequate vascularisation of the dermal template, the silicon layer is removed and replaced by a thin autograft. We present a 26-year old male who sustained a 93% TBSA burn injury (60% full-thickness burn, 33% partial-thickness burn). He was treated with artificial skin, split-thickness autograft and CEA in combination. The clinical history and the follow-up of approx. 1 year are presented and the results discussed. We consider the survival of this patient being a result of the therapeutic progress of the recent decades.     

Cultured composite autografts as coverage for an extensive body surface area burn: case report and review of the technology

Cultured epithelial autografts (CEA) have been used as an adjunct in the surgical management of extensive thermal burns. Unfortunately, the lack of a dermal matrix makes CEA susceptible to infection, shearing forces and limits their incorporation into the burn wound. A cultured composite autograft (CCA) has been developed in which autologous keratinocytes and fibroblasts are surgically harvested from the burn patient's normal skin. These components are proliferated and then combined to form an epidermal and dermal matrix, grown to confluence then applied.

Standard wound coverage techniques as well as CCA technology were utilized for successful wound closure in a 12 yr-old female with an 81% third degree burn. After fascial excision and allograft coverage, autografts were placed on her posterior burns and then 7500 cm² of CCA was placed onto her anterior thorax, abdomen and lower extremities. Sixty percent of the burn was covered with CCA resulting in a success rate of 40%. No evidence of infection was noted, even in areas where CCA failed, although in those areas random epithelialization appeared to occur which then seemed to facilitate autograft placement. Early debridement and allografting followed by conventional autografts and CCA placement may provide an effective skin coverage strategy in patients with extensive deep burns.     

Cultured epithelium as a skin substitute

Twenty-five burn patients with full or partial thickness skin loss received cultured epithelium (CE), allografts or autografts as part of their treatment. Overall, a 30 per cent graft 'take' was achieved irrespective of whether the CE was autograft or allograft, fresh or frozen. In the case of deep dermal burns this figure improved to 50 per cent. The surviving grafts merged with split thickness skin grafts (SSG) and advancing wound edges. When full thickness skin loss was grafted, only a patchy take could be achieved and the surviving islands of CE tended not to spread across the wound. No rejection of CE allograft was recorded either clinically or histologically up to 6 months. The technical problems and clinical implications are discussed.     

The use of artificial dermis for reconstruction of full thickness scalp burn involving the calvaria

The incidence of extensive full thickness scalp burn involving the calvaria is rare and can be very difficult to reconstruct, as the application of local or free tissue transfer is limited. Although wound closure can be achieved with bone debridement and immediate or delayed split-thickness autografting, the result may be problematic due to unstable skin graft surface. The use of artificial dermis that may provide stable thick coverage in the treatment scalp and skull burn has rarely been reported in literature. We encountered two patients who suffered from severe head burns involving the calvarium. Following debridement including the necrotic bone, the artificial dermis (Integra) was used for immediate wound coverage which was 15 cmx10 cm in one case and 5 cmx6 cm in another. Three weeks later, ultra-thin skin grafting was placed on the neodermis. Compared to split-thickness skin graft, this technique provides a thicker coverage for wound closure. Neither skin breakdown nor ulceration was noted in the 1-year follow-up. This paper reports the successful use of artificial dermis for reconstruction of severe scalp burn with calvarial bone involvement.     

Allogeneic skin substitutes applied to burns patients

Early re-surfacing of burn wounds remains the ideal but is limited by the availability of skin graft donor sites. Cultured grafts overcome these problems and autologous keratinocytes can be grown in culture and placed on a dermal substitute, but this results in delay and requires two operations. We developed an organotypic skin substitute, which achieves cover in one procedure, and have previously found allogeneic cell survival up to 2.5 years after grafting onto clean elective wounds (tattoo removal). Here, we report a short series using the same model applied to burns patients with less than 20% total body surface area affected. The skin substitutes consisted of allogeneic dermal fibroblasts embedded in a collagen gel overlain with allogeneic epidermal keratinocytes, and were grafted to patients with tangentially excised burns. A side-by-side comparison with meshed split-thickness autografts was performed. No grafts became infected. The allogeneic skin substitute showed little effective take at 1 week, and by 2 weeks only small islands of keratinocytes survived. These sites were subsequently covered with meshed split-thickness autograft, which took well. It is concluded that further development of this model is needed to overcome the hostile wound bed seen in burns patients.     

Effects of Human Recombinant Growth Hormone on Donor-site Healing in Burned Adults

Patients suffering severe burns have an accelerated catabolism with a highly negative nitrogen balance that may worsen their prognosis. Somatropin treatment has been shown to improve this balance in different hypercatabolic situations. Moreover, in children with extensive burns it also reduces the healing time of the skin graft donor site and shortens the hospital stay. In the existing literature there are no controlled prospective clinical trials in adult patients that confirm these data. Our aim was to demonstrate the efficacy of recombinant growth hormone (somatropin) in reducing the healing time of the skin graft donor sites and the length of stay in the burn unit in adult patients with severe burns. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial was carried out in 24 adult patients with severe burns (more than 40% of the total body surface burned or more than 15% full-thickness burns). Patients received placebo (n = 11) or somatropin (n = 13) at a dosage of 0.15 mg/kg/day divided into two equal doses (every 12 hours) via intramuscular injection. Treatment was initiated the day the first autograft was performed and terminated the day the patient was discharged from the burn unit. The mean number (+/- SD) of skin grafts per patient was similar between the two groups (4.2 +/- 1.8 vs 3.4 +/- 1.8 in the placebo and somatropin groups, respectively). No reduction in the healing time of the skin graft donor site was observed in the somatropin group compared to the placebo group. Likewise, the time admitted to the burn unit was not significantly different, either in the absolute number of days (36.2 +/- 19.7 vs 30.1 +/- 16.8 days in the placebo and somatropin groups, respectively) or in relation to the percentage of the total body surface burned or the body surface with full-thickness burns. Growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) levels were three and five times higher, respectively, in the somatropin group than in the placebo group. Ten of the patients treated with somatropin experienced hyperglycemia, and seven of them required insulin treatment. No other adverse side effect was observed. One patient in the placebo group died as a result of sepsis and multiple organ failure. Somatropin, with the treatment regimen and dosage used in these studies, did not reduce the healing time of the skin graft donor sites or the length of hospitalization in the burn unit in adult patients with severe burns.     

Conservative surgical debridement as a burn treatment: Supporting evidence from a porcine burn model

In thermal deep‐dermal burns, surgical debridement is normally used in conjunction with skin grafting or skin substitutes and debridement alone as a burn treatment is not usually practiced. The current study addresses whether or not debridement alone would enhance burn wound healing on small deep‐dermal‐partial thickness burns. This was a prospective and blinded experimental trial using a porcine deep‐dermal‐partial thickness burn model. Four burns, approximately 50 cm² in size, were created on each of eight pigs. Two burns from each pig were immediately surgically debrided and the other two were not debrided as the internal control. Hydrate gel together with paraffin gauze were used to cover the burns for four pigs and silver dressings for the other four. Clinical assessment of wound healing was conducted over a 6‐week period. Skin samples were collected at the end of the experiment and histopathological evaluation was performed. The results show thinner scar formation and lower scar height in the debrided compared with nondebrided wounds in the hydrate gel/paraffin gauze groups. There were no statistically significant differences in wound healing assessment between the debrided and nondebrided wounds dressed with silver dressings. This study provides supporting evidence that immediate debridement with an appropriate dressing and without skin grafting may promote wound healing, suggesting its potential benefit for clinical patients.     

Total full-thickness skin grafting for treating patients with extensive facial burn injury: A 10-year experience

IntroductionFacial burns are not only a severe burn injury, but result in psychological disturbance. The improvement of the methods of treating facial burns remains topical. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effectiveness of approach based on full-thickness skin autografting for facial burn injuries.MethodsDuring 2000–2019, ninety seven patients with the facial burn were treated in Burn Center. All patient were divided into two groups. The comparative analysis between groups was done.ResultsGroup A was treated with full-thickness skin grafts (42 patients – 43.3%). Since 2010, total full-thickness skin graft was used in 11 patients from Group A. In group B, 55 patients (56.7%) were treated with split-thickness skin grafts, including 9 patients (16.4%) with total split-thickness skin graft transplantation. Total full-thickness skin graft was performed in case of a deep and extensive facial burn and cicatricial deformities. During the long-term period, a positive cosmetic result and the absence of indications for reconstructive operations were noted.ConclusionThe approach of facial burn treatment based on total full-thickness skin graft allows conditions for engraftment and adaptation of autograft, reduces the risk of scar developing and achieves maximum cosmetic results of treatment.     

The use of non-viable glycerol-preserved cadaver skin combined with widely expanded autografts in the treatment of extensive third-degree burns

Allograft skin lyophilised in 98% glycerol is an effective overlay for widely expanded autografts. The technique was evaluated clinically on a total of 58 sandwich grafting procedures in a group of 39 patients with extensive third-degree burns. Forty-five grafting operations performed within 10 days postburn all resulted in an epithelialisation rate of at least 75% within 5 weeks. Thirty-three of these procedures achieved complete (more than 95%) wound closure. Of 13 operations performed after the 14th postburn day, ten resulted in a wound epithelialisation of at least 75%. Epithelial quality and cosmetic results were good. The mean length of hospitalisation was 56 days. One patient died from unassociated respiratory failure. The absence of allograft viability did not impair its function as an autograft overlay. The apparent attenuation of allograft antigenicity conferred by the action of 98% glycerol may have contributed to the results achieved. The process of cadaver skin preservation in 98% glycerol is simple and inexpensive.     

Keratinocytes in the treatment of severe burn injury: an update

Burns are among the most life‐threatening physical injuries, in which fast wound closure is crucial. The surgical burn care has evolved considerably throughout the past decennia resulting in a shift of therapeutic goals. Therapies aiming to provide coverage of the burn have been replaced by treatments that have both functional as aesthetic outcomes. The standard in treating severe burns is still early excision followed by skin grafting. The use of cultured keratinocytes to cover extensive burn wounds appeared very promising at first, but the technique still has several limitations of which the long time to culture, the major costs, the risk of infection and the need for an adequate dermal layer limit clinical application. The introduction of dermal substitutes, composite grafts, tissue engineering based on stem cell application have been advocated. The aim of this review is to assess the use of cultured keratinocytes in terms of technical aspects, clinical application, limitations and future perspectives. Cultured keratinocytes are expected to keep playing a role in wound healing, especially in the field of chronic wounds. In severe burns, despite its limitations, keratinocytes can be beneficial if implemented as one of the elements in a broader wound management.     

Utility of acellular allograft dermis in the care of elderly burn patients

BACKGROUND: Because skin thins with advancing age, traditional thickness skin grafts cannot always be obtained in very elderly burn patients without creating a new full-thickness wound at the skin graft donor site. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In an attempt to circumvent this problem, acellular allograft dermis (Alloderm, Life Cell Corp., The Woodlands, TX) and thin autograft (depth 0.005 inches) was used in skin grafting 10 elderly burn patients (age 78 year +/- 2, TBSA burn 17% +/- 2; mean +/- SEM) over a 1-year period. The outcome of patients receiving Alloderm was compared retrospectively to a similar group of 18 elderly patients admitted over the prior year, eight of whom underwent operative wound excision and autografting (depth 0.014 inches) without Alloderm. RESULTS: Length of hospital stay was significantly reduced in patients treated with Alloderm compared to the total group of elderly in whom selective use of operative debridement and skin grafting was used. Functional outcome was improved in those patients who underwent skin grafting regardless of operative technique. Donor site healing time was significantly reduced with Alloderm (12 days +/- 1 versus 18 days +/- 2), while graft take was similar to conventional autografting. Unfortunately, 3-month mortality remained poor regardless of operative skin grafting or technique used. CONCLUSIONS: This initial experience suggests that use of Alloderm may allow more elderly burn patients to undergo operative wound closure, thus improving functional outcome and reducing hospitalization. Unfortunately, long-term survival for very elderly burn patients remains poor.     

Vertical (two-layer) skin grafting: new reserves for autologic skin

The main, permanent source of burn coverage continues to be autologic skin. In patients with major burns, the amount of available autologic skin may be insufficient. Consequently, severe wounds are covered after debridement with other biological or synthetic skin substitutes. Another source of skin reserves for wound coverage is the use of cultured keratinocyte sheet graft alone or with any dermal substitute. Some of these materials provide only temporal coverage and are often costly and time-consuming in preparation. These factors can be critical in burned patients. To expand the effective means of wound coverage, the authors sought a new source of autologic skin. The dermal grafts that were the marginal product of skin harvesting were meshed and grafted on the debrided third-degree burn, granulated wound, or muscle. The authors observed good dermal grafts "take" with rapid or slow epithelialization. They saw no the delay in donor site healing where the skin grafts overlapped. The histological difference in usual skin grafts and dermal grafts was studied after their harvesting and "taking."     

The MEEK technique: 10‐year experience at a tertiary burn centre

Extensive full‐thickness burns pose a great challenge to the burn surgeon. Lack of autograft donor sites is an important limiting factor to achieving wound closure. To overcome this problem, various methods of treatment have been suggested in the past, including the MEEK technique. This study was carried out at the Bogenhausen Hospital Burn Unit, Munich, Germany from 2006 to 2015. There were a total of 148 skin grafting operations. The modified MEEK technique was performed on 67 patients. Patients included 34 males and 33 females, with an average age of 39·6 years. The mean percentage body surface burned was 65%, and full‐thickness injury occurred in 52%. The mean area graft per procedure was 20%. The viability of the graft as assessed between the 7th and 10th day was generally in the range of 60–90%. The average number of operations required was 2·21. The mean length of stay was 27 days. Infection was documented in five patients, and seven deaths occurred. The mean follow‐up was 3·2 years. When faced with large surface area burns and limited donor sites, the MEEK technique is a satisfactory method for coverage.     

Outcomes of sprayed cultured epithelial autografts for full-thickness wounds: a single-centre experience

Introduction

The lack of autograft donor sites with major burns provides the impetus to develop innovative solutions due to the difficulty of wound closure. Autograft donor sites are particularly limited in patients with burns involving over 50% total body surface area (TBSA). The introduction of cultured epithelial cell autografts offers a potential solution to assist in wound closure. The objective of this study was the assessment of clinical results after sprayed application of the cultured epithelial autograft (CEA, Keraheal™, Seoul, Korea, MCTT) suspension onto the wounds of extensively burned patients.

Materials and methods

This retrospective clinical audit of major burn patients (n = 16) describes the use of CEA which was combined with 6:1 meshed expansion grafts in those with the burn over 40% TBSA in our hospital between the period of August 2007 and January 2010. The burn patients included 12 males and 4 females with a mean age 41.5 and a burn area of 51.3 ± 3.1% TBSA (30–70%; median: 50.5%) and a mean third burn area of 32.5 ± 3.0% TBSA (median 34.0%).

Results

The take rates were 37.6%, 68.0% and 90.0% on average at 2, 4 and 8 weeks after treatment with the suspension, respectively, and the transplantation of the cultured cells was applied to full-thickness burns, with the coverage of a skin area of 497.5 cm² per 1 ml of the cultured cells. For clinical follow-up, 12 patients were observed for 21.5 months on average, with a maximum follow-up period of 39 months. Six patients were excluded from the surveillance because two died during hospitalisation and the other four were impossible to trace.

Conclusion

The use of a sprayed cultured epithelial cell autograft (Keraheal™) in treating a full-thickness skin wound in severely burned patients results in favourable quality of scars and also good potential to save lives by providing epidermal cover.