A Versatile, Patient‐Centred Approach to Surgical Wound Closure: A Single‐Centre Case Series on the Use of a Synthetic Electrospun Fibre Matrix in Vasculopathic Patients

Patients with vascular disease often suffer from lower extremity ulcerations that may require surgical intervention to remove non-viable or infected tissues. Post-operatively, these patients still present with a high risk of non-healing due to poor blood flow and chronic inflammation. Advanced wound healing matrices may be considered to support tissue regenerative and reduce the risk of further wound complications. A synthetic electrospun fibre matrix (SEFM) (Restrata, Acera Surgical Inc.) is a fully synthetic, extracellular matrix that encourages cellular infiltration and neovascularization with minimal inflammatory response. In the present study, a single vascular surgeon retrospectively reviewed data of vasculopathic patients treated with SEFM during surgical management of various wound aetiologies. Ten patients were identified and data on time to closure, closure approach and post-operative complications were collected and analysed. SEFM was utilized to either support neo-vascularization for subsequent autografting or re-epithelialization through secondary intention healing. All patients in this series achieved either definitive closure or complete re-epithelialization in an average of 6.8 weeks. One instance of superficial infection was successfully managed with antibiotics. No instances of unplanned re-operation or other wound complications were observed. Early experience suggests practical application of SEFM for surgical wound management in vasculopathic patients.