Tropical Journal of Pharmaceutical Research

Original Research Article | OPEN ACCESS

Effect of the combination of composite skin grafting and recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor on plastic surgery for extensive scars after burns

Jiadong Liu¹, Xiaojun Zhang²

¹Department of Emergency, Hanchuan People’s Hospital, Hanchuan, 431600, Hubei Province, China; ²Department of Plastic Surgery, Hanchuan People’s Hospital, Hanchuan, 431600, Hubei Province, China.

For correspondence:- Xiaojun Zhang Email: xzjx15@163.com

Accepted: 22 July 2022 Published: 29 August 2022

Citation: Liu J, Zhang X. Effect of the combination of composite skin grafting and recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor on plastic surgery for extensive scars after burns. Trop J Pharm Res 2022; 21(8):1739-1746 doi: 10.4314/tjpr.v21i8.22

© 2022 The authors.
This is an Open Access article that uses a funding model which does not charge readers or their institutions for access and distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0) and the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read), which permit unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited..

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the effect of combined use of composite skin grafting and recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rh-bFGF) on plastic surgery for extensive burn scars, and its influence on wound healing and inflammatory responses in patients.

Methods: Hospital records of 120 patients who underwent extensive scar plastic surgery after burns in Hanchuan People’s Hospital from February 2019 to February 2020 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were equally assigned to study group (STG) and control group (COG), based on the order of admission. All patients received composite skin grafting surgery and post-surgery topical silver sulphadiazine cream regularly, while those in study group (STG) received additional treatment with rh-bFGF spray on the wound surfaces. Scar scores, degree of wound healing, populations of fibrocytes and capillaries, levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and transforming growth factor-β1 (TGF-β1), and activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) were evaluated.

Results: Patients in STG had significantly better scar scores, shorter mean wound healing time, higher mean degree of wound healing, higher scores on inflammatory reactions near the wounds, and higher populations of fibrocytes and capillaries, when compared with patients in COG group (p < 0.001). After surgery, there were lower levels of VEGF and TGF-β1, and lower levels of activities of LDH and SDH in STG than in COG group (p < 0.001).

Conclusion: Rh-bFGF accelerates the proliferation of wound tissue, improves local microcirculation, regulates inflammatory response, and enhances wound healing in burn scar patients when used in combination with composite skin grafting. Therefore, Rh-bFGF has a potential for enhanced management of burn scars.

Keywords: Composite skin grafting, Recombinant human basic fibroblast growth factor (rh-bFGF), Plastic surgery, Burns, Scar