Skin substitutes

current concepts and a new classification systemSubstitutos cutâneos conceitos atuais e proposta de classificação

Ferreira, Marcus castro
Paggiaro, Andre Oliveira
Isaac, Cesar
Neto, Nuberto Teixeira
dos Santos, Gustavo Bastos

Full professor of the Discipline of Plastic Surgery at Hospital das Clínicas of the School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo (HC‐FMUSP), São Paulo, Brazil.
Doctor, head of the Tissue Bank of the Central Institute of HCFMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Doctor, head of the Laboratory of Cell Culture of the Department of Plastic Surgery at HCFMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Resident physician of the Discipline of Plastic Surgery at HCFMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil.
Resident physician of the Discipline of General Surgery at HCFMUSP, São Paulo, Brazil.

Study conducted at Hospital das Clínicas of the School of Medicine, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.

Submitted to SGP (Sistema de Gestão de Publicações/Manager Publications System) of RBCP (Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plástica/Brazilian Journal of Plastic Surgery).

Paper received: July 25, 2011 Paper accepted: August 13, 2011

Correspondence to: Cesar Isaac Av. Doutor Arnaldo, 455 ‐ sala 1.360 ‐ Pinheiros ‐ São Paulo, SP, Brazil ‐ CEP 01246‐903 E‐mail: [email protected]

Revista Brasileira de Cirurgia Plastica 26(4):p 696-702, October/December 2011.

ABSTRACT

Complex wounds are characterized by complete loss of cutaneous cover. The most common plastic surgery technique is the autogenous skin graft; however, the amount of material available from donor areas is often limited. The development of synthetic or biological products as skin substitutes is therefore an area of interest. The present study aimed to classify the different types of skin substitutes available based on three criteria: the skin layer to be replaced, which can be categorized into epidermal (E), dermal (D), and dermal‐epidermal composites (C); the durability in the wound bed, which can be temporary (T) or permanent (P); and the origin of the material, subdivided into biological (b), biosynthetic (bs), and synthetic (s).