Reconstruction of Extensive Calvarial Exposure After Major Burn Injury in 2 Stages Using a Biodegradable Polyurethane Matrix.

OBJECTIVES: To share our experience of an extensive calvarial reconstruction in a severely burn-injured, elderly patient in a 2-stage procedure utilizing a novel biodegradable temporizing matrix (NovoSorb BTM), followed by autograft. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 66-year-old patient with 75% full-thickness burns, including 7% total body surface area head and neck, with calvarial exposure of approximately 350 cm(2), complicated by acute renal failure and smoke inhalation injury. Exposed calvarium was burred down to diploe and biodegradable temporizing matrix was applied. Over the next 29 days, the biodegradable temporizing matrix integrated by vascular and tissue ingrowth from the diploe. Delamination and grafting occurred, however, at 43 days postimplantation of biodegradable temporizing matrix due to skin graft donor-site constraints. RESULTS: Graft take was complete, yielding a robust and aesthetically pleasing early result (26 days post-graft application). CONCLUSIONS: Biodegradable temporizing matrix offers an additional resource for reconstructive surgeons faced with fragile patients and complex wounds.

A randomized, controlled trial of negative pressure wound therapy of pressure ulcers via a novel polyurethane foam.

The objectives of the study were (1) to look for any local, clinically apparent response, within and around a debrided wound, to a novel biocompatible polyurethane foam during repeated, short-term implantation, and (2) to assess the material's efficacy as a negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) interface compared with a widely used, commercially available foam. Twenty pressure ulcers in 18 patients underwent surgical debridement, then randomization to receive novel treatment or control foam as the wound interface for NPWT. Dressing changes every 2-3 days allowed qualitative wound assessment and quantitative measurement to compare outcomes. No adverse reaction was observed in any patient receiving the new foam. The new "novel foam" performed as a NPWT interface as effectively as the control "standard foam." In deep wounds, the new foam was easier to remove, fragmented less, and showed less retention than the control foam. No marginal in-growth occurred, making removal less traumatic and reducing bleeding from cavity wall granulations. The results support previous large animal studies, and independent ISO10993 testing, that the new foam is safe and biocompatible. Its efficacy as an NPWT interface, nontraumatic removal with low fragmentation and retention rate, favors the new material, especially in deep cavity wounds.