Outcome of Facial Burn Injuries Treated by a Nanofibrous Temporary Epidermal Layer

Mauro Vasella; Jan Cirebea; Epameinondas Gousopoulos; Anna Wang; Riccardo Schweizer; Matthias Waldner; Gerrit Grieb; Philipp Buehler; Jan Alexander Plock; Bong-Sung Kim

doi:10.3390/jcm12165273

Outcome of Facial Burn Injuries Treated by a Nanofibrous Temporary Epidermal Layer

J Clin Med. 2023 Aug 13;12(16):5273. doi: 10.3390/jcm12165273.

Authors

Mauro Vasella¹, Jan Cirebea¹, Epameinondas Gousopoulos¹, Anna Wang^{1

2}, Riccardo Schweizer^{1

3}, Matthias Waldner¹, Gerrit Grieb^{4

5}, Philipp Buehler⁶, Jan Alexander Plock^{1

2}, Bong-Sung Kim¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, University Hospital Zurich, 8091 Zurich, Switzerland.
² Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Cantonal Hospital Aarau, 5001 Aarau, Switzerland.
³ Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Regional Hospital Lugano, 6900 Lugano, Switzerland.
⁴ Department of Plastic Surgery and Hand Surgery, Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhoehe, 14089 Berlin, Germany.
⁵ Department of Plastic Surgery & Hand Surgery, Burn Center, Medical Faculty, Hospital of the RWTH Aachen University, 52074 Aachen, Germany.
⁶ Center of Intensive Care Medicine, Cantonal Hospital Winterthur, 8400 Winterthur, Switzerland.

Abstract

Background: The face is commonly affected in thermal injuries, with a demand for proper recognition and the correct choice of treatment to guarantee optimal aesthetic and functional outcomes. It is highly vascularized and often heals conservatively, highlighting the particular relevance of conservative treatment modalities, many of which require daily re-applications or dressing changes, which can be painful and tedious for both the patient and the healthcare providers. Motivated by encouraging results of a novel temporary nanofibrous epidermal layer, we herein present a case series of this technology in a case series of patients suffering from facial burns and treated in our Burn Center.

Patients and methods: Patients with superficial partial-thickness facial burns and mixed pattern burns, which were treated with SpinCare^™, an electrospun nanofibrous temporary epidermal layer, between 2019 and 2021, at our institution were analyzed retrospectively. The Manchester scar scale (MSS) and numeric rating scale (NRS) were used for scar, pain, and outcome evaluation at different time points by five independent board-certified plastic surgeons with profound experience in burn surgery.

Results: Ten patients (m = 9; f = 1) were treated and evaluated retrospectively. The mean age was 38.8 ± years (SD ± 17.85). The mean healing time was 6.4 days (SD ± 1.56). The mean follow-up was 16.4 months (SD ± 11.33). The mean MSS score was 5.06 (SD ± 1.31), and the mean NRS Score for pain was significantly reduced from initially 7 to 0.875 upon application (mean (pre-application) 7 ± 0.7 and (application) 0.875 ± 1.26; p ≤ 0.0001). Patients reported a NRS score of 10 in terms of functional and cosmetic outcomes at their final follow-up appointment. No adverse effects were observed.

Conclusions: The application of a nanofibrous temporary epidermal layer such as SpinCare^™ represents a relatively easy-to-use, well-tolerated, and effective alternative for the treatment of partial-thickness facial burns.

Keywords: conservative treatment; facial burns; nanofibrous dressing; temporary dressing.

Grants and funding

Bong-Sung Kim is sponsored by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, KI 1973/2-1) and the Novartis Foundation for Medical–Biological Research (22A046). Epameinodas Gousopoulos is sponsored by the Lipedema Foundation Grant (27A). The Sassela Foundation and the Novartis Foundation for Biomedical Research (22A038). Jan A. Plock is or has been a recipient of the Swiss National Science Foundation funding, projects: 180418 (IICT), 169805, and 185401; he is also on the science advisory board of Nanomedic Technologies Ltd. (since 2021).