96. Trilaminar Skin Reconstruction Following Full-thickness Burn Injury: A Single-staged Novel Approach

Abstract

and thawed to room temperature prior to testing and half of which were freshly excised and at room temperature, were loaded onto a 100N load cell force-displacement apparatus. Samples were stretched at a constant strain rate (1mm/ sec) until failure. Durometer, stress-strain curves, Young's Modulus (YM), and ultimate tensile burst strength were analyzed. Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney tests were performed and p-value<0.05 were considered statistically significant. RESULTS:The centers, but not peripheries, of wounds had higher durometer at day 42 than day 28 (p=0.03). The mean and standard deviation of YM of 42-day (0.01000, 0.00743) scars was slightly higher than 28-day (0.00738, 0.00548) wounds, but not statistically significantly so. Burst strength of frozen samples were higher for 42-day scars (p=0.01). Frozen samples (blue) displayed more brittle and less viscoelastic behavior and higher YM (p=8.93x10 -8 ) than fresh samples (red). There was a 3-fold increase in YM standard deviation in the frozen samples (0.00602 MPa) compared to the fresh samples (0.00203 MPa). CONCLUSION:Durometer measurement is a nondestructive method of wound evaluation that can be used longitudinally for time series measurement and appears to track with wound maturity. Contrary to prior reports, sample storage has significant effects on both the viscoelastic properties and burst strength of skin, causing loss of elasticity. We recommend the use of fresh samples whenever possible to avoid misinterpretation of physical property data. Future work will compare alternate methods of storing tissue for reliable downstream analysis.