Evaluation of physical properties of semi-thickness skin, acellular dermis and fascia as biologic skin substitutes

Nowadays, biologic skin substitutes are used extensively in the treatment of skin injuries and burns. These substitutes have many advantages like accelerating the healing process with the acceptable final appearance of the healed skin. Evaluating the physical and mechanical properties of these biological products is important to their clinical success. In this paper, physical and mechanical properties of some biologic skin substitutes including semi-thickness skin allograft, acellular dermis, and fascia were studied. All of the samples showed porous structures and viscoelastic behavior. The results indicate that semi-thickness skin has the highest mechanical strength. On the other hand, acellular dermis and fascia represent good water vapor transmission and water uptake capacity, respectively. In conclusion, the findings suggested that fascia is a more efficient wound dressing for managing wound exudates and the semi-thickness skin can be used for the treatment of high-tension wounds.