Burns wound dressing using a synthetic skin substitute

Use of synthetic skin substitute
for dressing burn wounds

The Victorian Adult Burns Service (VABS) has a cadaver skin bank. However, due to issues surrounding cost, graft rejection, disease transfer and limited availability, Biobrane - a synthetic skin substitute - is the preferred temporary wound dressing for uncontaminated excised wounds in the VABS unit. The use of Biobrane has been incorporated into the unit's surgical treatment algorithm. Biobrane may be considered an expensive wound closure option, but a recent study suggests it is more cost and time-effective than cadaveric allograft when used as a temporary wound closure method. 

Reference: Tan H, Wasiak J, Paul E, Cleland H. Effective use of Biobrane as a temporary wound dressing prior to definitive split-skin graft in the treatment of severe burn: A retrospective analysis. Burns 41(5) pp.969-976. dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.burns.2014.07.015