ABSTRACT
In few areas have new biomaterials been incorporated into daily practice as in the management of burns and wounds. Burn management has changed dramatically over the past two or three decades, thanks to a host of critical care and surgical innovations (1), and new biomaterials are playing an increasingly important role as patients with larger and more complex wounds are surviving. The initial improvements in survival were due largely to an understanding of fluid resuscitation that developed in the 1950s and 1960s (2,3). The next major hurdle to overcome was the routine occurrence of wound sepsis. This was eliminated as a common problem by the development and practice of early and accurate identification of deep wounds and prompt and effective excision and closure (4-7). Various biomaterials have materially contributed to the success of this important progress in burn care.
