BACKGROUND Dermal skin substitutes have become a standard of care in burn treatment. OBJECTIVE To compare and assess wound contracture reduction and histologic incorporation into the wound, dermal substitutes were implanted into full-thickness skin wounds in nude mice. MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty-seven mice received a full-thickness 2 x 2 cm dorsal skin wound, and were either implanted wit...

OBJECTIVE To determine whether acellular human dermis is degraded by matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), a large class of matrix-degrading enzymes. METHODS The degradation of acellular human dermis specimens was evaluated in vitro. Wild-type murine fibroblasts with a broad-spectrum MMP inhibitor, GM6001, and MMP-2-deficient fibroblasts were placed on the basement membrane and dermal surfaces of...

BACKGROUND Acellular dermal matrix has been used for over a decade in primary breast reconstruction. Few articles have specifically examined its use in revision breast reconstruction for fold malposition, capsular contracture, rippling, and symmastia. METHODS One hundred thirty-five revision breast reconstructive procedures using acellular dermal matrix (AlloDerm) in 118 patients (154 breasts...

OBJECTIVE To examine the role of acellular dermal matrix grafts for prevention of microarterial anastomotic thrombophlebitis. DESIGN Bilateral femoral artery microvascular anastomoses were created in the field of established wounds infected with Staphylococcus aureus in 12 rats. In each animal, 1 femoral microarterial anastomosis was wrapped with an acellular dermal matrix graft, and the cont...

Tissue-engineered skin substitutes may be either acellular or cellular. Acellular products (i.e., cadaveric human dermis with cellular material removed) contain a matrix or scaffold composed of materials such as collagen, hyaluronic acid, and fibronectin. Cellular products contain living cells such as fibroblasts and keratinocytes within a matrix. The cells contained within the matrix may be au...

INTRODUCTION Patients who present for augmentation mammoplasty with poor quality mammary soft-tissue support may be at increased risk for post-operative complications. Non-crosslinked intact porcine-derived acellular dermal matrix (Strattice™ Reconstructive Tissue Matrix, LifeCell Corp., Branchburg, NJ, USA) may enhance soft-tissue support in such patients and reduce implant-related complicatio...