From the Editor: What I Learned at SAWC Fall 2015

I am a Symposium of Advanced Wound Care veteran, with 20+ conferences under my belt. Each year, I look forward to seeing new faces visit our booth — first-time attendees and clinicians barely familiar with our publications — along with the usual cast of (forgive me) characters who attend year-after-year and probably could deliver my spiel better than I. Come to think of it, some of them do. I frequently witness seasoned SAWC-ers explaining what benefits each of our journals offers and which articles in the displayed issues are important reads and which of our books contains the best photos, the best on-the-run explanations of wound types and care for ever-changing staff, or the best material with which to prep for certification.

Some session topics (eg, atypical wounds, standard care for lower extremity wounds, topical oxygen) and presenters (eg, Lavery, Fife, Seaman, Snyder) may be SAWC fixtures, but the information presented always has a new twist or vital data to offer. Yes, you already know you can instill fluids while providing negative pressure, but do you know which instillation material (studies have shown) yields the best outcomes? Is foam/felt a viable alternative to more advanced offloading approaches? Thus, despite one presenter stating we shouldn’t “hold our breath” about what’s new in the wound care pipeline, just getting a different take on a current challenge, courtesy of an especially relevant, well-chosen session, can provide the proverbial “Ah-ha!” moment.

What I also have found through the years and what I am seeing among attendees is a growing appreciation for the posters. From unadorned, straight-forward descriptions of a facility’s algorithm for addressing pressure ulcer prevention to elaborate company-sponsored studies of products and devices, the posters submerge you in the most current research and the truly hot topics. The SAWC Fall poster hall was busy from set-up to takedown, with increasing numbers of people engaging with the presenters. The recent Poster Gala (a celebration of entries and presentation of awards for the best posters in each of the four categories) was extremely well-attended, and the crowd didn’t dissipate until well beyond the scheduled end time.

This microcosm of what is happening in the world of wound care allows you not only to sample the day-to-day challenges of wound management, but also to appreciate current trends. You can tell what’s hot by the number of studies/posters on particular products. In years past, that has included (by poster count) silver, honey, and negative pressure. For SAWC Fall 2015, the hot topic was human amniotic membrane; this included products going by such designations as cryopreserved human amniotic membrane (cHAM), dehydrated human amniotic membrane allograft (DHAMA), and dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane allograft (dHACM). No fewer than 40 posters offered information from case series, clinical research, informational/educational reports, and laboratory research, where these products were used to treat (alone or in combination with negative pressure, total contact casting, and other management options) all manner of chronic wounds including complex sternal wounds, perineal wounds, hip wounds, abdominal wounds, sacral wounds, surgical wounds, hand reconstruction, burns, wounds exhibiting pyoderma gangrenosum, and (most abundantly) lower extremity wounds. Posters explained how these products are produced and how they function, offered application instruction, and distinguished product differences and similarities. Poster/study authors discussed their studies and outcomes with all who were willing to listen, underscoring the practicalities of the products with an enthusiasm not always captured in the larger sessions. In addition, many poster presenters offer replicas of their posters for easy sharing with colleagues unable to attend.

What was my personal take-home message about these umbilical cord-derived products? One: there seems to be little controversy about the source of the tissue. Two: such tissue provides healing and growth factors in abundance. Three: when a product is “hot,” you can bet there will be a multitude of manufacturers eager to individualize and subsequently prove the benefits of their product compared with the others available to try to capture the market share (to this layperson). Four: you never know who you will meet in the poster hall. I was delighted to have real face time with one of our new Editorial Board members, who traveled from Brazil to attend and present her poster. Five: traditionally, some of the best (free!) food at the Symposium is served at the Poster Gala (accompanied by alcoholic libation).

For anyone planning to attend the SAWC in Atlanta in April, absolutely be sure to include time in the Poster Hall. Think about submitting a poster; abstracts are due in early December and there is a category to fit all types of research (single case reports are accepted). Most importantly, if you presented a poster, please consider submitting your work for publication in OWM. Regrettably, I did not talk to every presenter with an impressive study. Assume we would be interested!

This article was not subject to the Ostomy Wound Management peer-review process.