Histopathological evaluation of the healing effects of human amniotic membrane transplantation in third-degree burn wound injuries

Abstract

Skin burn injuries result in loss of its protective function as a barrier and leading to a high risk of infection. Therefore, effective treatments and healing of burn injuries are very important to prevent complications. Amniotic membrane (AM) as a biological dressing inhibits the loss of vital fluids, water, and protein. The aim of this study was to compare the healing effects of AM and silver sulfadiazine (SSD) ointment in third-degree burn injuries in experimental rat model. Fifty-four male Sprague–Dawley rats were divided randomly into three equal groups. After induction of third-degree burn, transplantation of human AM (HAM) and SSD ointment used on wound area for treatment groups. The third group was considered as control. At days 7, 14, and 21, histopathological evaluation of burn wound area was performed using light microscopy. After 21 days, burn injury in HAM group showing lack of enough wound contraction and decrease in wound area in comparison to SSD group. Also, the healing effects were demonstrated using decline of inflammatory cell infiltration and enhanced epithelium after 21 days. The total wound score was significantly higher in the HAM group than the control and SSD ointment groups, during and at the end of the experiment (P < 0.05). On day 21, significantly lesser inflammatory cell infiltration was noticed in the control group (P < 0.05). Our findings showed that HAM can be used successfully as a biological treatment for experimental third-degree burn injury in animal model.