Lin-Gwei Wei, Chieh-Feng Chen, Chi-Hsien Wang, Ya-Chen Cheng, Chun-Chang Li, Wen-Kuan Chiu, and Hsian-Jenn Wang
Taoyuan Armed Forces General Hospital, Taiwan
Taipei Medical University, Republic of China
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Surgery Curr Res
Background: Human cadaveric skin grafts are considered as the ???gold standard??? for temporary wound coverage because they provide a more conductive environment for natural wound healing. Lyophilization, packing, and terminal sterilization with gamma-ray can facilitate the application of cadaveric split-thickness skin grafts but may alter the adhesion properties of the grafts. In a pilot study, we found that 500 grays (Gy) gamma-irradiation (?-irradiation) seemed not to reduce the adherence between the grafts and wound beds. Aim and Objectives: We conducted this experiment to compare the adherence of lyophilized, 500-Gy-?-irradiated skin grafts to that of lyophilized, non-irradiated grafts. Materials and Methods: Pairs of wounds were created over the backs of 12 Sprague Dawley rats. Pairs of ???lyophilized, 500-Gy- ?-irradiated??? and ???lyophilized, non-irradiated??? cadaveric split-thickness skin grafts were fixed to the wound beds. The adhesion strength between the grafts and the wound beds were measured and compared. Results: On post-skin-graft day 7 and day 10, the adhesion strength of ?-irradiated grafts was greater than that of the nonirradiated grafts. Conclusion: Because lyophilized cadaveric skin grafts can be vascularized and the collagen of its dermal component can be remodeled after grafting, the superior adhesion strength of 500-Gy-?-irradiated grafts can be explained by the collagen changes from irradiation.
Trained by the National Defense Medical Center of Taiwan, Lin-Gwei Wei is the only plastic surgeon in a countryside, 690-bed, military, teaching hospital, while he also works part-time in another medical center with his mentor Professor Hsian-Jenn Wang. The busy schedules of surgeries do not suppress Dr Wei’s curiosity about the mysteries of the human body, and he tries to work out some difficult clinical challenges with researches. Currently, he participates in the complex “bank of artificial skin” development program of Professor Wang, in a clinical trial of wound-healing enhancing gel, and in an electromyographically-controlled prosthetic limb development program. He hopes that his wide interests in burn care, acute and chronic wound care, trauma care, local- and free-flap surgeries can eventually do some good to researchers and to the people, just like what he has done in his clinical practice.
E-mail: surgeonwei@gmail.com
