Negosentro | Bio-engineered skin grafts in San Antonio: A guide for patients | Some chronic wounds often don’t heal as expected. Besides the standard treatment, patients may need dedicated wound care, which may involve specialized dressings and surgery. Common surgery for wounds is skin grafting. In a standard skin grafting procedure, the surgeon removes skin from one part of the body and uses it to treat an open wound that is not responding to treatment. Bioengineered skin is a substitute made in a lab, which is used as an alternative to using the patient’s skin for skin grafting. There are numerous clinics for bio-engineered skin grafts in San Antonio, but before going in for the procedure, here are some things to know.
The basics
A bioengineered skin graft is made from artificial tissues derived from the patient’s body cells or other sources. The most common source of bioengineered skin is allogenic foreskin. Also called the neonatal foreskin, this is a preferred choice because it can be obtained from babies going for circumcision and has a high level of epidermal keratinocyte stem cells. The healing process is much quicker with bioengineered skin grafts made from the neonatal foreskin, with limited risks and side effects. Typically, bioengineered skin grafts treat wounds that don’t heal naturally, such as arterial ulcers, diabetic ulcers, sores, and pressure ulcers. Evidence shows that bioengineered skin grafts can reduce the recovery time and enhance a patient’s quality of life.
Types of bioengineered skin grafts
Different kinds of bioengineered skin grafts are used for wounds—some work for replacing epidermis, while others are meant for the dermis. Bioengineered skin substitutes can be permanent or temporary, and it is possible to create grafts that contain biological molecules that support the growth of the patient’s skin.
What can you expect from the procedure?
Getting bioengineered skin grafts doesn’t have to be as painful as a standard skin grafting procedure. It is an in-office procedure with fewer complications. Your surgeon will explain all the details, including the reason for using bioengineered skin grafts and how the procedure will be performed. If you have an active wound that is infected, you will have to wait before the wound heals completely. Your doctor can advise antibiotics and medications to heal the wound, besides using other treatments for wound care. Bioengineered skin grafts can be used as needed once your skin has healed and there is no sign of infection.
Check online for SA clinics for bioengineered skin grafts.
