1. Scarless Wound Healing
- Author
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Graham G. Walmsley, Elizabeth R. Zielins, Ethan G. Muhonen, Michael S. Hu, Dominik Duscher, Geoffrey C. Gurtner, Adrian McArdle, Ruth Tevlin, David Atashroo, H. Peter Lorenz, Kshemendra Senarath-Yapa, Zeshaan N. Maan, Taylor Wearda, Michael T. Longaker, and Victor W. Wong
- Subjects
Wound Healing ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Skin Physiological Phenomena ,integumentary system ,business.industry ,Skin Injury ,Regeneration (biology) ,Scars ,Disfigurement ,Holy Grail ,Surgery ,Cicatrix ,Humans ,Regeneration ,Medicine ,Progenitor cell ,medicine.symptom ,business ,Wound healing ,Skin - Abstract
Over 100 million patients acquire scars in the industrialized world each year, primarily as a result of elective operations. Although undefined, the global incidence of scarring is even larger, extending to significant numbers of burn and other trauma-related wounds. Scars have the potential to exert a profound psychological and physical impact on the individual. Beyond aesthetic considerations and potential disfigurement, scarring can result in restriction of movement and reduced quality of life. The formation of a scar following skin injury is a consequence of wound healing occurring through reparative rather than regenerative mechanisms. In this article, the authors review the basic stages of wound healing; differences between adult and fetal wound healing; various mechanical, genetic, and pharmacologic strategies to reduce scarring; and the biology of skin stem/progenitor cells that may hold the key to scarless regeneration.
- Published
- 2015
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