Tag Archive for: vetrix biosis

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Common Skin Graft Procedures and How Vetrix Technology Can Help

Veterinary Neurology Vetrix

When a patient has a wound that’s too big to close on its own or a wound that becomes chronic and doesn’t heal by itself, treatment with a skin graft may be beneficial in obtaining wound closure. Skin grafts help quickly and effectively restore function and provide better cosmetic results than other treatment options. Additionally, skin grafts protect from infections and parasites. The Vetrix BioSIS Technology we provide is a regenerative medicine beneficial in remodeling, regrowing, and repairing wounds encountered in the veterinary field.

Two Common Skin Graft Procedures in Veterinary Medicine

When it comes to common household pets, veterinarians are often most likely to perform one of the following types of skin grafts when necessary for wound treatment:

  • Total Skin Graft (or Full-thickness skin graft): This skin graft includes the epidermis and dermis. It involves removing a piece of skin and the fat from the underside of the skin. This grafting procedure requires the donor site to have enough surrounding loose skin so the incision can be closed.
  • Partial Thickness Skin Graft (or Split-thickness skin graft): This skin graft involves shaving a thin layer of skin, 0.2 to 0.4mm, off the donor site. The cutting plane of this graft remains above the hair follicles so that no hair will grow from this skin graft. The donor site will heal independently and doesn’t require closure, but it may be more painful than a total skin graft because the exposed nerve endings will need time to heal. It’s typically used in burn victims with limited normal skin for grafting.

Veterinarians will guide their patients on the best skin graft option for their particular wound.

Treating Skin Grafts With Regenerative Veterinary Medicine

Once it’s been determined that a pet needs a skin graft to heal a wound, consider a regenerative medicine solution as part of your treatment. Unlike synthetic materials or other biological grafts, Vetrix Technology provides a structure for healthy tissue to grow across and incorporate into the extracellular matrix, resulting in wholly remodeled, vital, and fully vascularized tissues. During the healing process, Vetrix BioSIS is replaced with the body’s native tissue, developing into a permanent repair without the long-term presence of a foreign body. After healing is complete, patients are left with healthy, natural tissue.

BioSIS is a great regenerative medicine solution for skin grafts because it facilitates angiogenesis and rapid remodeling, allowing the body’s defense mechanisms to react and respond to any potential infection. It promotes safe and sterile healing of the wound.

Download the BioSIS Informational Brochure to learn more about this technology and how it can aid in healing skin graft patients.

Get the brochure.

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Polypropylene Mesh vs. BioSIS: How Vetrix BioSIS Is Superior

We know you want to give your patients the best care there is. From diet and nutrition to coat care to wound care, you want to feel confident that you’re up to speed on the latest technology and products. This can be difficult when there’s so much information out there. When it comes to wound care, you can trust Vetrix to deliver the most accurate information and help you take the best care of your patients. Keep reading to learn how Vetrix BioSIS is superior to polypropylene mesh.

The Inflammatory Response

In a study done on rats, researchers compared Marlex (MX), a polypropylene mesh, to small intestine submucosa (BioSIS), a non-cross-linked collagen matrix, to repair the abdominal wall. When implanted, MX caused an immediate and intense inflammatory response in the rats. However, early-stage tensile strength was increased. The inflammatory response may be attributed to poor tissue compatibility, but it’s important to note that such a strong inflammatory response can lead to increased adhesion formation, bladder dysfunction, bowel obstruction, as well as other maladies.

The inflammatory response with BioSIS was present, however, the response was less than that of the MX. 

Adhesion Density

BioSIS implants showed thicker density than MX implants within the first 14 days of extraction, however, this subsided after the 14-day mark passed. This density was attributed to fluid accumulation. While MX increased less in thickness during the initial 14 days, this perBioSISted throughout the rest of the 90 days. At the 30 day mark, the adhesion grade was greater in the MX treated extractions.

The extent of adhesion formation was the same in both groups up until 90 days when BioSIS-implanted rats showed more adhesions. So while BioSIS implants produced more adhesions after 90 days, they were less dense than the MX implant adhesions.

Collagen Production

As mentioned earlier, BioSIS produced a lower inflammatory response than MX. This was indicative of the type of collagen forming. The collagen production in the BioSIS explants was slower than that of MX. However, at the end of four weeks, 90% of the BioSIS implants had degraded and were replaced by macrophages and stronger scar tissue. This shows that the novel collagen produced was superior to that of the MX implant.

The issue of the BioSIS being weaker than MX can be overcome by increasing the number of layers in the BioSIS implant. And although the tensile strength was weaker at one month, by the end of the 90 days, the strength of the materials was comparable.

Why BioSIS Is Superior to Polypropylene Mesh

In summary, BioSIS implants produced less dense adhesions, a significantly lower inflammatory response, and a more architecturally stable collagen matrix for the formation of stronger scar tissue.

Have questions about Vetrix BioSIS? We’d love to hear from you and give you more information. Contact us today!  And if you’d like to read more about interesting topics like this, check out our blog page.

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Dealing with Chronic Wounds: Wound Care 101

Caring for and treating patients with chronic wounds can sometimes be frustrating and discouraging. You so desperately want to give them the best wound care possible and see them live their lives to the fullest, but nothing seems to offer a permanent solution. You may be able to improve your results with the BioSIS method.

Using Porcine Small Intestinal Submucosa (SIS) for Wound Care

Researchers say that using porcine SIS to treat chronic wounds has improved healing time and permanency. Due to its makeup, an acellular, biological extracellular matrix (ECM), porcine small intestinal submucosa draws in the host’s cells to attach and multiply. This aids in quicker, more permanent healing.

Growth compounds like collagen, elastin, glycosaminoglycans, and proteoglycans help with the healing process. And it’s not just one cell that’s attracted to the matrix. Porcine SIS attracts numerous cell types for a healthy, diverse layer formation. Since it takes more than growth factors to aid in the healing process, it’s fortunate that SIS has been found to decrease matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) activity. These endogenous proteolytic enzyme levels usually rise with chronic wounds.

Even better, the mechanical properties of multi-layer SIS are stronger and degrade slower as opposed to single-layer SIS. Pertaining to the repair of different kinds of wound types, these two SIS products provide flexibility when choosing a biologically-active ECM.

1-Layer VS. 3-Layer SIS

When choosing between 1-layer SIS and 3-layer SIS, studies show a thicker matrix may be preferable. One study done in diabetic mice showed the 3-layer SIS didn’t require application as frequently as the 1-layer matrix. Where both SIS layers were applied to full-thickness wounds on the day of wounding and three days later, the thicker matrix showed larger sections of unincorporated layers—meaning there was still significant space in the matrix for cells to mitigate.

This is good to know for patients that may have owners who live farther away and travel a greater distance for appointments or cannot afford frequent applications.

More Reasons to Consider the SIS Method

Besides reducing MMP levels, you may also want to consider the SIS method for wound care because it contains proteins that foster cell attachment and growth factor binding sites, sequester matrix-degrading enzymes, and enhance cellular filtration into damaged tissue. In addition to these positive effects, it also supports new blood vessel growth, which is vital to wound recovery.

Overall, small intestinal submucosa has been found to not only increase healing in wounds but also the rate at which the wounds recover compared to the standard of wound care.
If you’d like to further discuss this method of wound care or have any questions, please contact us. We would be happy to speak with you! And if you’d like to read more on topics like this, visit our blog page.

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BioSIS as a Biological Scaffold

BioSIS is revolutionizing the way veterinarians are able to care for seriously wounded patients. Due to its framework and ability to attract cells, BioSIS may shorten healing time and ensure organized tissue regrowth in the damaged area. Good blood flow is key to using the BioSIS method successfully. Read on to discover how to get the best results when using this method of wound care in your patients.

Use the Horizontal Mattress Technique

Proper blood flow is essential to successfully using BioSIS as a biological scaffold. Using the horizontal mattress technique to fixate the graft encourages blood flow to the wound site, by connecting to many points of blood supply. This also enables you to slide the edges of the implant under the undermined tissue edges and allows for further connectivity to the patient’s healthy blood supply.

Throughout BioSIS insertion, you can also use “tacking” to apply independent sutures and ensure it’s secure and flush against the wound.

Perforate the BioSIS Scaffold if Necessary

To avoid inflammation, fenestration may be necessary. This usually only applies to larger wounds to keep cells and other fluids from accumulating between the BioSIS scaffold and healing flesh. It is also helpful in preventing a hematoma from forming.

One major threat to the success of this procedure is dried blood. This generates inflammation, which is crucial to limit throughout the healing process. Stoppage of blood flow can prevent cells from evenly attaching to the scaffold and deter the healing process.

Keep the Matrix in Place

Once cells begin to lay their own collagen matrix, it’s important to be extremely careful when changing bandages. As the patient’s own cells take over the BioSIS graft, it will be resorbed at different rates—not all at once. When changing bandages, it’s imperative that as much of the extracellular matrix from the implant be left intact to continue healing. Using a non-adherent bandage to dress the wound will help you to change it more easily.

Within the first 6-10 days of post-operative recovery, the wound will turn caramel-colored as the damaged tissue is replaced and repaired. Instead of thoroughly cleaning the wound and scraping off this pigment, simply irrigate with saline and apply another non-adherent bandage. This way, all of the graft is resorbed and healing is even across the entire contusion.

Allow/Encourage Wound Site Mobility

When bandaging the patient, allow for as much mobility as possible while still covering the entirety of the wound site. Mobility encourages blood flow which, as we mentioned earlier, is essential to the success of this method of healing.

Based on extensive research, we’ve found that mobility increases the rate at which the healing occurs and makes for a better off healing process overall. This is because the cells attaching themselves to the scaffold receive their direction from the surrounding matrix’s blood flow. If blood flow is weak or immobile, the cells will have no direction to follow. Just remember, form follows function.
We’d love to answer any questions you may have about this technique. Contact us to learn more or tell us how you’ve been able to help your patients using BioSIS technology. You can also visit here for more blogs on topics like this.

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The Use of BioSIS in Hernia Repair

While internal obturator muscle transposition (IOT) has, for a while now, been regarded as the primary surgical treatment for perineal hernia repair in dogs, recent studies have shown porcine small intestinal submucosa (SIS) may perform better.

What Is Herniorrhaphy?

Another term for hernia repair that you may have heard is herniorrhaphy. A perineal hernia occurs when the pelvic diaphragm muscles are incapable of supporting the pelvic organs because they are too weak. Causes may include chronic constipation, tenesmus, and weakening of the levator ani muscle. The condition commonly occurs in middle-aged to older, intact male dogs.

SIS vs. IOT

When using small intestinal submucosa (SIS) as a biomaterial to treat hernia repair on dog subjects, investigators used a 4-ply SIS sheet trimmed to dimensions slightly larger than the pelvic diaphragm defect, rehydrated it using sterile saline, and secured it to the muscles using sutures. SIS material promotes blood vessel and tissue ingrowth that is structurally similar to host tissues.

It meets all the recommendations of an ideal hernia repair tissue such as inexpensive, resistant to infection, no inflammatory response, and inhibits adhesion and fistula formation. It’s superior to other substrates in that it has shown the least amount of residual implant material and lower infection rates.

The SIS technique is purported by investigators to have less potential for complications and is easier to perform over the IOT technique. It also has been proved to have the same biomechanical strength and stiffness as the IOT technique.

Why Is SIS Better for Hernia Repair? 

Taken from the jejunum of pigs, porcine SIS is an acellular extracellular matrix. It is made up of type I collagen and contains vascular endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor. This biomaterial is also known to be used as a xenograft for vascular grafts, Achilles’ tendon repair, urinary bladder augmentation, and dura mater grafts among others.

In experiments on dogs, both small intestinal submucosa and internal obturator transposition resulted in a band of fibrous connective tissue, but on IOT patients, the band was objectively wider. IOT repairs also regularly developed the following issues: multifocal and randomly scattered aggregates of lymphocytes within the fibrous bands, shrunken and eosinophilic clusters and individual myofibers, necrosis, and small foci of mineralization . SIS repairs showed no signs of aggregates of lymphocytes, necrosis, or inflammation.

The internal obturator transposition has generally been preferred over other surgical techniques for perineal hernia treatment like superficial gluteal muscle transposition, semitendinosus muscle flap, porcine dermal collagen implants, and synthetic mesh implants. However, with new research and findings, it looks like that has now changed to small intestinal submucosa.

If you’d like more information on this topic, contact us today. We’d love to hear how you may be (or already are) able to incorporate this technique into your practice to help your patients. And for more industry-leading science and medicine blogs for veterinarians, check out our main blog page.

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