New treatment protocol for pseudosyndactyly in epidermolysis bullosa hand using a dermal regeneration template glove.

Abstract BACKGROUNDː The Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) is a rare genetic disease associated with blistering skin caused by minimal trauma. Because of its exposed position and its continued use in daily activities, the hand is constantly at risk of microtrauma and is therefore one of the organs most affected by the disease with highly disabling deformities that represents a challenging field in hand surgery practice.METHODSː The Authors present their experience in the microsurgical treatment of pseudosyndactylies comparing the classic dressing with vaseline gauze with our innovative “glove protocol” using Integra® dermal regeneration template. The endpoints analyzed were: healing times, hospital stay time, discomfort for the patient, free-recurrence interval, follow-up range and major complications.RESULTSː A total of 34 procedures were performed on 24 EB patients with hand deformities. Compared with the dressing with vaseline gauze, microsurgery followed by application of dermal regeneration template gloves allowed a significant reduction of hospital stay, healing time, and dressing pain as well as an increased recurrence-free interval.CONCLUSIONSː The microsurgical approach followed by our new protocol described in the study has been beneficial in providing consistent and successful long-term results for these patients.