Skin wounds invariably heal by developing fibrotic scar tissue, which can result in devastating disfigurement, growth restriction and permanent functional loss.
Stanford inventors have discovered that applying a hydrogel containing an inhibitor of mechanotransduction pathways on top of a skin graft reduces scarring and promotes healing after repair of traumatic injuries like severe burn wounds.
A team of researchers at Stanford have developed a hydrogel that delivers a scar-reducing focal adhesion kinase inhibitor (FAK-I) to skin grafts and donor sites.