The Use of an Absorbable Polyvinyl/Polymeric Microfilm Matrix with Silver in the Treatment of Venous Ulcers: A Pilot Study

Background: The treatment of chronic venous ulcers continues to be a challenge.  Appropriate compression therapy is the gold standard for treatment of these problems but managing the multiple issues with the wound bed remains a treatment challenge.

Purpose: A new absorbable polyvinyl/polymeric matrix with silver has been introduced in an attempt to improve healing in patients with venous ulcers. This product is composed of an ultrathin matrix and both ionic and metallic silver which provide local antimicrobial activity for at least 3 days.  Because of its thickness of only 20 microns, it easily conforms to the wound bed and maintains a moist wound environment conducive to new blood vessel formation, granulation tissue development, and cell growth. Since it is bioresorbable, there is no need to remove it from the wound bed making wound dressing changes easy and painless.

Methods: To evaluate the effect of this unique product on patients with venous ulcers we treated 10 patients with weekly applications of the product combined with compression bandaging for 4 weeks to evaluate the effect on wound healing. The patient group included 6 men and 4 women with an average age of 63 years (range 41-78 years).  All patients had venous ulcers present for more than 6 months and all ulcers were slow to respond to conventional therapy.

Results: At the end of the 4 week evaluation period, 9 of the patients had shown a significant improvement in healing with an average of 48% closure (range from 25% to 100%).  No patient developed a clinical wound infection. One patient had a 50% increase in ulcer size over the same time. All patients were happy with the lack of pain at the dressing changes.

Conclusion: Based on these preliminary results, we recommend the further evaluation and use of this new, novel product for the treatment of venous ulcers.