Dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane allografts for myelomeningocele and wound reconstruction

A growing body of literature demonstrates the clinical promise of dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM), a cryopreserved tissue product derived from placental amniotic membrane, to enhance post-operative wound healing. The purpose of this study is to review the potential of dHACM to facilitate post-surgical and myelomeningocele wound repair. A comprehensive literature search of PubMed was conducted to identify studies investigating dHACM use in pediatric and surgical wound care published from inception to October 2020. For each study, patient characteristics, wound characteristics, and outcomes following dHACM application were documented and assessed. Of the 190 articles reviewed, 15 publications were included in the final analysis. Results demonstrated that the average wound healing time varied across clinical indications (e.g., 14 days for trauma reconstruction to 116 days for Moh’s surgery repair). Across indications, pediatric patients had shorter healing periods compared to adults (P < 0.01). Chronic wounds (> four weeks old) were documented in both adult (n = 3) and pediatric (n = 2) wound repair publications; all chronic surgical wounds demonstrated complete wound closure with dHACM. No complications from dHACM use were reported. Advantages of dHACM included increased patient satisfaction, cost-savings, and faster wound healing. We then present two cases of myelomeningocele wound repair facilitated successfully by dHACM. Overall, dHACM proves to successfully expedite wound repair in pediatric patients with chronic or complicated wounds such as those from myelomeningocele repair. It is important for surgeons to consider wound duration, size, and patient age to better predict graft success in enhancing wound repair.