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Introduction: Hyperbaric oxygen and platelet-rich plasma are used in the treatment of diabetic wounds. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and autologous platelet concentrates in healing diabetic wounds. Material and methods: Thirty-six female Wistar albino rats were used in this study. Diabetes mellitus was induced chemically with an intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin. The rats were divided into a control group, a hyperbaric oxygen group, a platelet-rich plasma group, and a combined therapy group. Platelet-rich plasma was applied just after the creation of the wound; hyperbaric oxygen treatment was carried out daily over 7 days. Wound healing was evaluated according to four parameters: ulcerations, epidermal thickness, density of dermal collagen fibers, and proliferation of dermal blood vessels. Results: The number of active ulcers in the combined therapy group was fewer than in the control group (p = 0.039), and the wound area was greatest in controls (p < 0.001). The epidermal thickness in platelet-rich plasma and combined therapy groups was non-significantly greater than in the control group (p = 0.097 and p = 0.074, respectively). The amount of fibrous collagen in these two groups was greater than in the control group (p = 0.002). Conclusions: Combined hyperbaric oxygen and platelet-rich plasma therapy was found to be successful in diabetic wound healing. The combination therapy had no additive effect in terms of angiogenesis and the development of new collagen fibers. © 2016 Termedia & Banach.

Systemic inflammation is associated with impaired wound healing in diabetes mellitus (DM) patients. Using immunohistochemistry techniques, the authors investigated changes in skin inflammation and skin blood vessels in human and experimental diabetes. Comparing to the non-DM human subjects, the total number of inflammatory cells per biopsy and the number of inflammatory cells around blood vessels, a strong indication of inflammation, were higher in DM subjects irrespective of their risk for developing diabetic foot ulcer. Inflammatory cell infiltration was robustly increased in all DM animal models compared with their non-DM controls. The number and density of blood vessels and CD31 positive proliferating endothelial cells around preexisting skin vessels was also higher in the DM patients. However, there were no differences in the skin blood flow between the non-DM and DM subjects. The number of skin blood vessels was also increased in the DM animals; however, these differences were less obvious than the ones observed for inflammatory cells. We conclude that skin inflammation and skin blood vessel density is increased in diabetic human subjects and in rodent and rabbit models of diabetes.

WOS: 000227762100009 PubMed: 16019739 We have applied the split flap concept to a distally-pedicled radial forearm flap to cover separate dorsal defects of the fingers in two cases. The rationale is that there are the vascular plexuses inside and around the sensory nerve that permit surgical splitting of the flap. In the split design, the first segment is supplied by the radial artery itself. The second segment is supplied by the neurocutaneous artery of the medial cutaneous nerve.