Re:Spray-on nanofiber 'skin' may revolutionize wound care
by elif on Sunday July 07, 2019 @09:02AM
(#20374879)
10+ years? Hm.. super glue has been used by hikers to treat wounds for as long as I can remember (20+?)
I wonder if this is a case of necessity inventing it and medical practice following
Re:Spray-on nanofiber 'skin' may revolutionize wound care
by gforge on Sunday July 07, 2019 @09:20AM
(#20374939)
Yeah, I remember some spray version when I was a kid. The 10+ is how long I think it has been present at my particular hospital.
The interesting thing is that it hasn't really caught on. We don't have any financial pressure or other external factors, it is really convenient, yet I'm pretty sure that only 10-20% of the doctors use it.
Re:Spray-on nanofiber 'skin' may revolutionize wound care
by euroclydon on Sunday July 07, 2019 @07:35AM
(#20374619)
I didn't see anything in the article about whether the surface is breathable. Assuming it is not, then how wells does skin regrow under a sealed layer?
Re:Spray-on nanofiber 'skin' may revolutionize wound care
by gforge on Sunday July 07, 2019 @08:44AM
(#20374822)
Probably fine. We often have blisters where there is an intact surface protecting the new skin. The big difference is that an intact blister is sterile by nature while most other wounds will always have some contamination.
In the operating theater I don't really see it happening. We've been discussing using glue there but then you need an additional layer of sutures which usually take longer to do (intracutaneous). Anything that takes time in the threatre is usually a deal breaker.
There are probably use cases outside my field but even for burns I'm uncertain if it is a good fit. Most wounds are not sterile and encapsulating bacteria under a layer of fiber seems like a recipe for pushing the bacteria deeper and generating a more severe infection.