Overview of Wound Healing in Different Tissue Types

Excerpt

The inevitable response to any implant is wound healing comprised of hemostasis, inflammation, repair, and remodeling. For nondegradable smooth-surfaced implants, repair and remodeling leads to isolation of the implant through tissue encapsulation. The nature of the encapsulation tissue and the cellular participants in the immune reaction leading to this outcome varies depending on the site of implantation and the type of tissue that hosts the implant (not to mention the skill of the surgeon).

It is now well-established that the wound healing process has substantial deleterious effects on the fidelity and reliability of implanted sensors and electrodes. A number of reviews [1–6] and a multitude of primary articles address this issue for implanted sensors, primarily glucose electrodes; however, there has been only one review [7] and a limited number of primary articles regarding electrodes implanted in central nervous system (CNS) tissue [8–11]. This chapter will provide a summary of the wound healing process in CNS tissue and compare it to the wound healing process in the peripheral nervous system (PNS), bone, and skin.