Skin substitutes: An Indian perspective

There have been numerous alternatives developed to replace skin. These can either be permanent substitutes or temporary substitutes, which need to be replaced later by autologous grafts. These have been tried in recent times as an attempt to reduce the need or in the case of permanent substitutes ,altogether replace autologous skin grafts. However till date no ideal skin substitute has been developed. Various factors have to be considered while choosing one of these substitutes. In a developing country like India awareness and availability of these skin substitutes is not adequate considering the volume of cases that require this modality of treatment. Also there are skin substitutes developed in our country that need to be highlighted. This article is an attempt to review the vast array of skin substitutes that have been developed and consider their utility and feasibility for developing countries.