title: A basic fibroblast growth factor improved the quality of skin grafting in burn patients.
abstract: To avoid hypertrophic scars in burn wounds, the simultaneous application of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) with regular surgical debridement and skin grafting was investigated for skin hardness by clinical examination and instrumental measurement. As little is known about the role of bFGF in wounds, burn wound scars were tested for hardness. Burn scars in various anatomical locations at least 1 year after final wound healing clinically demonstrated a significantly lower hard score in bFGF-treated wounds than in non-bFGF wounds (0.95+/-0.51 versus 2.3+/-0.66, respectively, p<0.01). In addition, a durometer, which is widely used in industry to measure materials similar to skin, such as rubber and thread-balls, demonstrated a significantly lower reading in bFGF-treated wounds than in non-bFGF wounds (7.9+/-3.64 versus 15.5+/-4.39, bFGF versus non-bFGF, respectively, p<0.01). The results demonstrated that burn wounds treated with clinically approved bFGF might contribute to a better cutaneous wound quality, at least in terms of hardness.
authors.affiliation: Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Developmetal and Reconstructive Medicine, Nagasaki University, Graduate School of Biomedical and Sciences, 1-7-1 Sakamoto machi, Nagasaki 8528501, Japan. akitas@hf.rim.or.jp
authors.forename: Sadanori
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Akita
authors.forename: Kozo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Akino
authors.forename: Toshifumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Imaizumi
authors.forename: Akiyoshi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hirano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D017439:Cicatrix, Hypertrophic / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods* / Q000502:physiology / Q000592:standards; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D016222:Fibroblast Growth Factor 2