Combined treatment with artificial dermis and basic fibroblast growth factor for cranial bone-exposing wounds

• We applied artificial dermis to the occipital bone-exposing wounds.
• bFGF was sprayed onto/injected into the artificial dermis daily.
• Combined treatment prepared a favorable wound bed for skin grafting.
• Combined treatment is an easy, fast-acting, and effective.

Aim of the studyCranial bone-exposing wounds should be resurfaced as soon as possible using flaps. However, early one-stage wound closure is sometimes difficult due to the poor general condition of the patient or equipment shortages. Artificial dermis composed of atelocollagen sponge is useful for reconstructing bone-exposing wounds. In addition, the treatment of wounds with basic fibroblast growth factor helps more severe wounds to heal faster. We employed combined treatment with artificial dermis and basic fibroblast growth factor to treat cranial bone-exposing wounds in 2 cases, and we describe these cases here.Materials and methodsCase 1: A 56-year-old man suffered severe burns, which exposed the occipital bone and mandible, after attempting suicide. Case 2: A 79-year-old woman suffered a full-thickness skin defect on her forehead due to a fall, which resulted in her frontal bone being exposed. Both patients underwent combined treatment with artificial dermis and basic fibroblast growth factor, followed by free skin grafting.ResultsThe combined treatment promoted the formation of granulation tissue, which acted as a wound bed for the subsequent skin grafting. The free skin grafting resulted in the complete resurfacing of the patients' wounds.ConclusionCombined treatment with artificial dermis and bFGF is an easy, fast-acting, and effective way of preparing a favorable wound bed for skin grafting, and hence, is useful for the treatment of cranial bone-exposing wounds.