Wound care


Chronic wounds come with symptoms just as foreboding as their name. For those affl icted, the regrowth of tissue either occurs at a less-than-optimal rate, or not at all – and for very deep wounds, even a skin graft may not suffi ce as treatment. That is, unless there is a functional alternative to human skin. Abi Millar asks researchers Professor Alan Smith of the University of Huddersfi eld and Guangyu Bao at McGill University how feasible artifi cial alternatives might be in the future.


A hard graft C


hronic wounds are notoriously challenging to treat. Defined as any wound that fails to heal in the expected manner, these wounds can be debilitating for patients and costly for healthcare systems. They typically occur in older patients, especially those with diabetes or other comorbidities, and can range from diabetic foot ulcers to pressure sores.


There are many steps that can be taken to manage chronic wounds, not least of which are cleaning, wound dressing, antibiotics and


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debridement (removing dead or inflamed tissue). Skin grafts are an option too in cases where the wound is too large to close on its own. This involves taking skin from a different part of the patient’s body and transferring it to the wound site to regenerate the damaged tissue. However, in serious cases the wound can take years to close, with complications like infection an ever-present concern. When dealing with an especially deep wound, even a skin graft can sometimes be out of the question.


Practical Patient Care / www.practical-patient-care.com


Iaremenko Sergii/Shutterstock.com


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