Why is BTM needed?

Early debridement of full thickness burn wounds is now standard practice and necessary to minimise the chance of sepsis, the surgically created wound can then be covered using split skin grafts (autografts).  In cases where the amount of viable tissue is not sufficient to cover the wound, it is necessary to physiologically close the wound to avoid infection, water vapour losses and contraction; the BTM is designed to perform these functions.  Split skin graft donor sites will reepithelialise within about 2 weeks,and can be reharvested up to 4 times, provinding sufficient autografts to cover the wound in most cases.  The BTM sealing membrane can be removed as the autografts become available and the repaired wound bed can be permanently closed.