PolyNovo® Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix (BTM) has gained favor for reconstructing non-graftable wound beds amid suggestions it is inherently resistant to infection. Evidence is limited to multiple case series and currently the rates of BTM colonization, infection and loss remain unestablished. We report our case series which includes a diverse case-mix of complex wounds successfully reconstructed with BTM, with a novel focus on the rate of infection and related microbiology profile. Our case series included all patients treated with BTM at Southmead Hospital between October 2021 and November 2023. In our cohort, 22 patients had their wounds reconstructed with BTM. Microbiological growth was observed in 76 % of available pre-BTM swabs and subsequently only 14 % (3/22) of all patients experienced clinical infection of BTM. In the case of infection, 66 % (2/3) of patients had successful salvage of BTM. Only one patient (5 %) in the cohort experienced partial BTM loss, with the remainder achieving total wound healing at 3 months. Our study makes a case that microbiological wound swabs prior to BTM application is of limited clinical value. In our experience, salvage techniques can be applied empirically in the case of clinical infection and the vast majority of patients will have successful integration of the BTM.
Keywords: BTM; Colonization; Complex wounds; Infection; NovoSorb® Biodegradable Temporizing Matrix; Wound healing.
© 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.