The use of amniotic membrane as temporar biological dressing in surgical treatment of severe burn injuries

Abstract

Introduction: Burn injuries represent a major problem of public health due to high incidence of letal cases, and due to severe medical and social consequences, causing long term hospitalization, patient’s mutilations and invalidity. Deep burns cause dermo-epidermic defects, which don’t heal per prima intention, requiring specialized medical care. Promotion of wound regeneration, structure’s restoration and function’s recovery using temporal biological substituents represents a true challenge for clinicians. Aim: determination of clinical effectiveness of use of amniotic human membrane (AHM) as biologic dressing in patients with severe burns; of influence on pathology’s evolution; of regeneration’s time of the wounds and patients hospitalization. Material and methods: It was performed a descriptive retrospective study in a group of 11 patients with 3rd and 4th degree burns treated with AHM as temporal biologic dressing. At the same time was studied a control group with severe burns, treated with standard methods. Results: The study group was formed by 4 men and 7 women. In 7 cases AHM was applied on skin’s donor sites, in 4 cases – on post burn wounds after tangential surgical debridement. Results were compared with those obtained in use of standard treatment methods in patients with similar diagnostics. Conclusions: Using AHM on debrided wound diminishes pain, electrolytic and protein losses, stimulates production of granular tissue and promotes epithelization reducing regeneration’s time. Using it as biologic dressing of donor site, promotes wound’s epithelization with formation of a new, thin and gentle epithelium.