A skin graft is a term you may have heard before but didn’t know that it was a commonly-used treatment for burn patients. During a skin graft, a doctor will extract a thin layer of skin from another part of the patient’s body and place it over the burn site. The layer of skin will be situated on the burn with surgical staples or stitches to hold it in place. During the entire skin graft process, the patient will be under anesthesia so he or she won’t feel any pain. After several days, the skin graft will begin to form new skin over the wound site. The downfall with skin grafts is that, the larger the burn area, the larger the portion of healthy skin must be extracted from the patient. If the burn area is too great a size, there won’t be enough healthy skin left to form a complete graft.
Synthetic pigskin
If a patient has had burns on a significant portion of his or her body, there won’t be enough healthy skin to use as a skin graft. In such a case, donor skin is the next best thing. The skin of genetically-modified pigs can be harvested by scientists and used to treat burn victims. The synthetic pigskin isn’t immediately rejected by the human body because they lack a specific molecule found in normal pigskin. Synthetic pigskin is durable and costs less than human donor skin. In most cases, pigskin can be used to treat patients for up to two weeks after the initial application. Pain management and reduced healing time are two objectives doctors aim for when using pigskins for burns and the results have been generally favorable.
Silicone for scar management
Topical silicone gel for scar management won’t help burns heal more quickly, but it will help to reduced scarring after a first or second degree burn. Silicone gel has been the gold standard in topical scar management for over thirty years. With numerous
clinical studies to support the efficacy and safety of topical silicone, surgeons and dermatologists can feel condfident recommending silicone as part of their patients’ post-operative care regimen. The way topical silicone works is through the mechanisms of
dermal hydration and
collagen regulation. When the skin undergoes trauma it loses excessive amounts of moisture. When this happens, specialized skin cells work overtime to repair the wound with a structural protein called collagen. Collagen production is part of a healthy wound-repair response; but if left unchecked, it can buildup and lead to
abnormal scar types. With the help of topical silicone, moisture will be preserved at the wound site and collagen synthesis scaled back to normal levels.
Biodermis is an innovative market leader with 30 years of expertise in the medical silicone industry. Visit Biodermis.com today to explore a complete range of scar management and post-operative care solutions.
PHYSICIANS AND MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS: REFER OR RESELL?
Biodermis offers custom tailored referral programs designed to simplify and reduce the cost of your patients' post-op care. Additionally, we offer professional pricing if you opt to retail our products. Give us a call at 800.322.3729, and we will be happy to provide additional details on these programs.