Skin grown in the lab is surgically applied to a burn patient
The clinical need for wound-care research is obvious, as is the conclusion that advances in wound care will not come easily or in isolation. Our experiences with the clinical care of wounds give us the expertise to facilitate wound-healing research. These efforts have shown success in the areas of biologics which have been transitioned from the research laboratory through the completion of Phase I and Phase II NIH-funded and FDA-approved clinical trials.
Skin that is grown in the lab is now being used to cover burned areas in patients with severe burns over a large part of their body. New areas of research focus include bioengineering of the wound to facilitate the healing of burns, traumatic wounds, and chronic ulcers such as diabetic foot and venous stasis ulcers. We are chemically modifying the wound bed so that antimicrobials and growth factors will have a greater effect in the wound-healing process. In addition, other infections can result in morbidity for patients, such as those complicating mesh repair of hernias. Our recent efforts are focused on the prevention of mesh infection after ventral hernia.