Clinical Evaluation of an Extracellular Matrix Surgical Mesh Reconstructive Surgery over Exposed Bone or Tendon

Introduction: Full-thickness skin defects with exposed bone and tendon tissue usually require extensive soft tissue reconstruction to replace the damaged ECM, provide an adequate blood supply via granulation tissue formation, and finally allow reepithelialization of a large area of dermal tissue. Such wounds do not often heal without intervention and failure to close can lead to chronicity, infection, and even amputation.

Method: Acellular biomaterials can be used for soft tissue reconstruction to provide support and to aid regeneration of missing or damaged tissue. The bioscaffold “ovine forestomach matrix” (OFM) modulates inflammation, stimulates blood vessel formation, promotes scaffold infill, and undergoes complete remodeling. For plastic and reconstructive surgery (PRS), OFM layers have been laminated without using “non-natural” components (e.g., crosslinking agents or synthetic polymers) into OFM PRS meshes, thereby preserving the structure and biology of single-layer OFM.

Conclusion: This study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of the OFM PRS mesh when used for full-thickness defects with exposed bone and/or tendon. The OFM PRS mesh was easy to apply, conformed well to exposed tissues, and rapidly vascularized, leading to well-formed granulation tissue. Where the OFM PRS mesh was used to cover exposed bone and tendon tissue, the regenerated neo-dermis began formation within seven days, with a robust blood supply, enabling grafting within 7–14 days. This set of clinical cases provides preliminary insights into the performance of the OFM PRS mesh for exposed bone and tendon cases.