Researchers from the National Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics (Into), of the Ministry of Health, are developing research to implement in the country the use of biological dressings made with tissue from the placenta, which is usually discarded after the birth of babies.
Into has been studying, since November 2021, the capture and preparation of the amniotic membrane for the production of dressings that can speed up the healing of serious injuries. In an interview with Brazil Agencythe plastic surgeon and technician responsible for the Institute’s Skin Bank, Sandra Baião, informed that, at the moment, the research is in the testing phase.
In all, 20 placentas were collected, resulting from a partnership with Maternidade Carmela Dutra, a unit of the municipal health network in Rio de Janeiro. On average, each placenta results in six dressings. “We have already collected some placentas and we have done all the work of preparing these placentas, to evaluate the result. Some tests are carried out in relation to the safety of using this material”, he explained.
The project foresees a second phase, when the dressings will begin to be used on Into patients. For this purpose, a new batch of placentas will be collected at the partner maternity.
“At this moment, we have not yet started this use. We are still in the first phase of evaluating the biological dressing based on the placenta, in terms of quality and biological safety, so that we can then use it on patients”, said Sandra Baião. She estimates that the second stage should start later this year.
Biological dressing based on placenta, by INTO/Disclosure
Regulation
Although the use of the amniotic membrane in the treatment of some types of wounds is already carried out in countries such as the United States, Germany and France, the project is still in the process of being regulated in Brazil. “It is not yet regulated as a treatment in Brazil. It is still experimental and is in the process of being regulated,” said the researcher.
The doctor believes that Into’s research can contribute to speeding up this process. “Although we have international references, we want to evaluate the applicability of this in our population, in this case, in the specific profile of Brazilians with wounds that are difficult to heal. We believe that this will contribute a lot to streamline the regulatory process”.
Sandra Baião warned, however, that it is not any wound that can receive a placenta-based dressing. These are specific wounds, which have some characteristics that make healing difficult. In these cases, the use of the amniotic membrane can help to accelerate this process and, with that, reduce, many times, the patient’s hospitalization time, the rehabilitation time, so that he can return to his activities that he had before suffering the injury.
funding
To capture the placentas, the Banco Multitecidos do Into team goes to the maternity ward, introduces itself to the mothers and explains what the study consists of, in order to obtain authorization to perform the procedure.
Sandra Baião said that the collection does not interfere at all in the progress of the delivery. “We wait for the baby to be born. When the placenta is removed by the obstetrician, instead of being discarded, it is collected in a sterile way and taken to Into”.
In the institute’s Multitissue Bank, the placenta is prepared to transform the part of the amniotic membrane into biological dressings. At the end of five days, the tissue receives a rectangular shape and is stored in packages that go to refrigeration, allowing the conservation of the dressing.
The doctor responsible for the research clarified that the amniotic membrane removed from the placenta is transparent, different from the skin of tilapia fish, for example, which is used in burns. “The amniotic membrane, once removed from the rest of the placenta, is completely transparent. It has a different aspect and also different properties from tilapia skin, in terms of healing”.
Study
In parallel to the Into research, there is a schedule for a larger multicentric study, which will involve other tissue banks, in this case, skin banks, but which depends on the regulation to be started. This study will involve, in addition to the Banco de Multitecidos do Into, the leather benches of Santa Casa de Porto Alegre; the Evangelical University Hospital, in Curitiba; and Hospital das Clínicas, at the University of São Paulo (USP), which also work with amniotic membranes.
The objective is to use the membrane in areas where skin is removed for grafting, such as the thighs, and in patients who have suffered burns.
