Wound Healing Made Easier

Each year in this country nearly 70,000 amputations are performed on diabetics. Most are caused by wounds that just won’t heal. However, many are now clearing up thanks to some super cells from a tiny source.

Thomas is standing on his own two feet again and he says it has never felt so good. Thomas was laid up — on and off — for two years with an ankle wound that would not heal.

“Me and my wife were worried I might lose the foot. It looked red all around. It was inflamed. It looked kind of dark inside,” says Thomas.

Nothing like it looks today thanks to a powerful new skin substitute called Graftskin (Apligraf®). It looks like plastic wrap, but it is made of cells from the foreskin of a newborn. It is packed with powerful growth material that stimulates healing.

“All the good stuff in fetal tissue which is basically as good as it gets be　cause of the baby being so new to the world and having all the growth factors for growth,” says Ａ podiatric surgeon.

It takes just 10 minutes in an exam room to treat 2 wounds on diabetic David’s feet. In a month, he will not even see the Graftskin. His own skin will replace it.

Unlike a skin graft where the skin graft will heal over the ulcer, in this case this will disintegrate into the wound and begin to release the growth factors and immune factors necessary for healing.

With Graftskin, most wounds close completely in about two months — without the “patchy” look of a skin graft. Because the material is sterile, there is little chance of infection.

Thomas says, “It’s clean and closed. No problems.”

Apligraf put Thomas back on his feet again.

Studies show 92 percent of wounds remained closed with Graftskin six months after therapy. Graftskin (Apligraf®) is FDA approved for venous leg ulcers and diabetic foot ulcers.