New Wound Healing Process Speeds Healing of Diabetic Foot Ulcers

A new technique using amniotic tissue harvested from a discarded placenta can heal wounds, burns and scars twice as fast as previous treatments. The tissue is extracted from the placenta, with the woman’s consent, during Caesarian sections and then sent to Georgia-based MiMedX, the company that processes the material so it can then be applied to the injured area to jump-start healing. The process, known as EpiFix, demonstrated significant success in a clinical trial involving patients with diabetic foot ulcers. 92% of patients who received the treatment were completely healed in six weeks compared with only 8 percent who healed in the same time frame without the addition of the processed amniotic membrane material. The trial was so successful it was terminated earlier than anticipated. Study findings are expected to be submitted for peer reviewed journal publication shortly.

Human amniotic membrane has been used in the treatment of various wounds for over 100 years, including diabetic neurovascular ulcers, venous ulcers that usually occur in the leg and burns.