A new technology in burn therapy: INTEGRA artificial skin.
Nurses caring for severely burned patients need to know not only a burn injury's multisystem consequences, but also the effects and expected outcomes of burn treatment. Excision and grafting remain the primary interventions to promote wound healing, but severely burned patients may have little or no skin available for autograft harvesting. INTEGRA artificial skin, a commercial dermal regeneration template, is a new option for complete physiologic wound closure in a variety of clinical situations. This article reviews the physiologic effects, complications, and expected outcomes of INTEGRA artificial skin and compares it with other methods of closing burn wounds.
Winfrey
M E
ME
College of Nursing, University of Massachusetts at Boston, USA. marwin19@mail.idt.net
Cochran
M
M
Hegarty
M T
MT
D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000379:methods; D017768:Skin, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing