Real-World Use of a Decellularized Porcine Placental Extracellular Matrix in Hard-to-Heal Wounds: A Retrospective, Single-Center Study

Background/Objectives: Treatment of hard-to-heal wounds remains a challenge in clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the real-world efficacy of a novel porcine placental extracellular matrix (PPECM; InnovaMatrix® AC, Convatec, Memphis, TN, USA). Methods: This single-center, retrospective study analyzed consecutive electronic medical records of patients receiving wound care between May 2022 and May 2024. Eligible patients had a hard-to-heal wound that failed to achieve sufficient healing after a minimum of 4 weeks of standard of care treatment, and went on to subsequent management with PPECM. Results: Eighty-nine patients (median age, 79 years) were included. The most common etiologies were traumatic wounds (30.3%), venous ulcers (25.8%), surgical wounds (21.3%), and diabetic ulcers (10.1%). Median wound age at first PPECM application was 11.4 weeks (range, 4.0–484.9). The median percent area reduction of the target wound in weeks 4, 12, and 20 was 43.33% (95% CI, 32.92–64.29; n = 75), 100.00% (95% CI, 100.00–100.00; n = 65), and 100.00% (95% CI, 100.00–100.00; n = 58), respectively. Wound closure occurred in 56 (62.9%) patients. The Kaplan–Meier estimate for the median time to complete wound closure was 66 days (95% CI, 55–96; n = 56) and that for the probability of wound closure in weeks 4, 12, and 20 was 0.21 (95% CI, 0.05–0.35), 0.62 (95% CI, 0.40–0.76), and 0.83 (95% CI, 0.31–0.96), respectively. Conclusions: Clinically stalled hard-to-heal wounds displayed a clinically relevant reduction in wound area at 4 weeks following treatment with PPECM, with a high probability of wound closure at 12 and 20 weeks after starting treatment. PPECM may support the closure of hard-to-heal wounds that have failed to respond to standard of care treatment.