(CS-112) A Sustainable Wound Environment using Bioactive Glass (BBGFM) Contributes to the Efficacy in Healing Complex Lower Extremity Wounds

Courtney Dodds, OMS-II3 – Medical Student, Ortho Neuro; George Papadeas, OMS-II3 – Medical Student, Ortho Neuro

Introduction: Lower extremity wounds often pose unique treatment challenges to
both clinicians and patients. Because of such challenges, it is often
necessary to utilize a combination of different techniques, modalities,
and products to successfully treat lower extremity wounds. Skin
substitutes belong to a family of advanced wound care products used
in challenging wounds. Bioactive glass wound matrix (BGWM*) is a new
category of skin substitutes that is composed of a water-soluble matrix
of fibers and microspheres that readily adheres to wound surfaces. The
porous BGWM absorbs wound exudate to maintain moisture balance
and serves as a scaffold to support wound healing. The objective of this
case series is to describe our experience with BGWM after application
on ten patients with complex lower extremity wound

Methods: A total of ten patients had foot, ankle or lower leg wounds and received
BGWM applications as determined by medical necessity. Each patient
received between one and three applications of BGWM during the course
of wound therapy. The patients were seven males and three females 49 to
94 years old. Wound etiologies included delayed surgical wound healing, a
crush injury, diabetic foot wounds, a decubitus ulceration, a chronic venous
leg ulceration, venous stasis ulcer with tunneling, a chronic non-healing
ulcer with surrounding scar tissue and probable fibrotic changes, an ulcer
with fat layer exposed, and a non-pressure chronic ulcer with exposure of
the fat layer. Wound debridement was performed as needed prior to each
BGWM application. No additional dressings or therapies were utilized after
initiation of BGWM other than basic cover dressings and debridement when
warranted.

Results: BGWM was utilized to effectively treat lower extremity wounds,
resulting in positive healing outcomes in all ten wounds. All patients
healed or demonstrated marked improvement in wound size and
disposition during the study period. None of the patients acquired an
infection once the BGWM was applied.

Discussion: Wounds from a variety of etiologies saw successful outcomes
after the application of the BGWM. These complex wounds
were consistent with chronic and refractory wounds treated
with BGWM by other investigators 1-4. BGWM has been shown
effective in DFUs in a 40 patient RCT while other wounds
that have been refractory for years were found to close after
applications of BGWM1-4. A common outcome reported in the
literature has been a significant reduction in complications
associated with wound infection once BGWM was applied to
wounds1-4.