Degloving Injuries
Common Problems which Present Treatment Challenges
Degloving injuries are defined as avulsion of the skin from underlying structures. This disrupts the blood supply to the skin causing necrosis. In physiologic degloving the skin may still be present but it will be separated from its blood supply. In anatomic degloving the skin and often other underlying tissues are removed as a result of shear forces. Unfortunately, these are common veterinary problems that present treatment challenges and potential long term complications.
Most frequently seen on the distal limbs, degloving injuries involve a high degree of morbidity with damage and exposure of underlying tissues. Muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones can all be affected and present a variety of problems for the treating veterinarian. Prevention of infection is critical as the clinician attempts to deal with repairing lost tissue, while treating fractures and managing the open wounds.
Immediate and Effective Treatment
Because of their unique properties, ACell Vet devices provide an immediate and effective treatment for degloving injuries. The ACell Vet Lyophilized Sheets can be placed directly into damaged tissues focusing the power of regenerative medicine exactly where it is needed.
The healing process stimulated by ACell Vet devices begins with the formation of new blood vessels (angiogenesis) within hours of placement. As the devices are resorbed, they release growth factors, proteoglycans, glycosaminoglycans and anti-infective peptides (magainens) that create an ideal healing environment. ACell Vet devices also have been found to include analgesic characteristics that can help with pain relief.
Advantages of Extracellular Matrix Technology
The extracellular matrix scaffold recruits the body’s own progenitor cells that will differentiate and create site specific tissue. The advantages of using this technology for degloving injuries include:
- Anti-infective, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties
- Ability to regenerate different tissue types
- No need for supplemental grafts
- No need for costly Wet to Dry bandaging
- Better healing with little to no scarring
