Poster: Adipose Tissue Allograft’s Ability to Close Recalcitrant Wounds

In a case series of five patients with recurrent ulcerations recalcitrant to previous wound care, treatment with adipose tissue allograft led to successful healing, according to a poster presented at SAWC Fall.

The researchers applied 1.5 to 3 cc of Leneva® Allograft Adipose Matrix to the wounds with subsequent primary closure in an operating room setting. The senior author then performed follow-up care at his private outpatient office or in a wound healing center until complete closure. All five patients studied healed in a time range between two weeks and two months, including one whose wound healed prior to suture removal. One patient experienced ulcer recurrence after increasing her activity level and not adhering to clinical recommendations. Accordingly, the researchers feel that the variability of patient adherence to the treatment plan is a limitation of the study. Interestingly, the authors noted that time to healing did not correspond with the size of the original wound.

The poster authors pointed out that by incorporating angiogenic and adipogenic factors, the adipose tissue allograft stimulates wound closure without allowing the formation of empty subcutaneous spaces. They share that this is especially relevant when surgeons resect bony prominences and, as a result, do not have to worry about creating an empty space for bacterial growth and a possible abscess. The authors note that previous studies indicate that usage of adipose allograft with other modalities, such as platelet-rich plasma, exhibits successful full wound closure, but that platelet-rich plasma alone was not any more effective than a standard saline dressing.^1,2 They feel that this case series will likely require expansion of the subject group and further follow-up to evaluate for factors such as wound recurrence.

Reference:

1. Smith OJ, Kanapathy M, Khajuria A, et al. Systematic review of the efficacy of fat grafting and platelet-rich plasma for wound healing. Int Wound J. 2018;15(4):519-526.

2. Gupta A, Channaveera C, Sethi S, Ranga S, Anand V. Efficacy of intralesional platelet-rich plasma in diabetic foot ulcer. J Am Podiatr Med Assoc. 2021;111(3). doi:10.7547/19-149

Poster CS-085 was featured at SAWC Fall 2021.