Rigenera protocol in the treatment of surgical wound dehiscence

Abstract

The effective management of post-operative wounds is important to prevent potential complications such as surgical-site infections and wound dehiscence. The purpose of this study was to treat wound dehiscence in elderly patients who were subjected to orthopaedic surgical interventions. The dehisced wounds were treated with autologous micro-grafts obtained using a promising CE-certified medical device called Rigeneracons. This instrument is a biological disruptor of human tissues able to specifically select progenitor cells that, as already reported in previous studies, maintain high cell viability but mainly have a high regenerative potential, allowing the repair of damaged tissues. Autologous micro-grafts obtained by Rigeneracons are ready to use and can be applied alone or in combination with biological scaffolds directly on the injured area. We observed in our patients a complete remission of dehisced wounds, on average, after 30 days from micro-grafts application and a total wound re-epithelialisation after 1 year from the surgical intervention. In conclusion, although we reported only three patients, autologous micro-grafts can be considered a promising approach for the treatment of dehisced wounds, improving the wound-healing process and in general the patient's quality of life without using other dressings.

Keywords: Autologous; Dehiscence; Micro-grafts; Tissue regeneration; Wound healing.

Figure 1

Malleolar dehiscence following osteo‐synthesis with steel peroneal plaque in two different patients. Evaluation of the first patient where the Rigenera protocol was applied twice. (A) Time 0 before micro‐grafts application. (B) Evaluation of dehiscence after 10 days. (C) Progression versus complete healing at 40 days from first application and 10 days after the second micro‐grafts application. (D) Follow‐up at 1 year. Evaluation of the second patient at time 0 before micro‐grafts application (E) and after 15 (F) and 60 days (G).

Figure 2

Dehiscence in the dorsal and medial area of the foot caused by forefoot alignment. (A) Before micro‐grafts application. (B–C) After 7 (B) and 15 days (C) from first micro‐grafts application and follow‐up at 1 year (D).