Silflex® soft silicone contact layer from Advancis®
The Silflex contact layer allows for pain-free removal, while adhering to healthy tissue and not a secondary dressing. The hydrophobic silicone coating prevents the dressing from adhering to the wound bed and the large open pores reduce the potential for clogging and pooling underneath the dressing, allowing exudate to pass through to the secondary dressing. Silflex is competitively priced with other market brands, making it a quality, cost-effective solution for wound-healing. The high conformability increases patient compliance1 and it can be cut to size if needed.
What differentiates Silflex technology products from others in the market?
Silflex is opaque in color versus clear. Many other contact layer dressings are clear, making it quite challenging to decipher what is the contact layer and what is the dressing. Silflex opaque color makes it easy to see in the dressing change. Other competitor contact layers can bunch up and stick to each other, making it hard for them to be released. But, medi's Silflex can be placed, lifted and readjusted with ease. In addition, the Silflex has larger porous holes making the exudate freely flowing into the secondary dressing. The longevity of the Silflex also makes it stand out, as it can stay on for up to 14 days. Lastly, Silflex comes in a larger range of sizes and as a silicone tape application.
Why is the Silfix technology so special?
The Silflex
soft silicone contact layer contains Silfix® technology. This technology allows
for no additional pain or trauma to the patient. Traditional adhesive dressings
can damage newly formed tissue and surrounding skin, delaying healing and
causing increased pain to the patient.
Don’t miss these additional dressings from medi with Silfix
technology:
Is there evidence that wound contact layers benefit a wound bed?
Clinical
Problem: Cellular and
Tissue-Based Products (CTBPs) provide many benefits to the well-prepared wound
bed. Many CTBPs have anti-inflammatory and bacteriostatic properties while
simultaneously promoting cell signaling and fibroblast proliferation in the
proliferative phase. CTBPs are traditionally secured with sutures, staples or
wound closure strips and are covered with a secondary dressing. Use of wound
closure strips, sutures and staples have known complications1 but
use of silicone wound contact layers for CTBPs have not been reported.
Secondary dressings are often changed in between evaluations of wound response
to the CTBP. These are done by clinic staff or frequently performed by nursing
staff at Skilled Nursing Facilities (SNFs) or Home Health Agencies (HHA’s) that
have little familiarity with CTBPs, risking loss of CTBP adherence.
Clinician/Patient
Outcomes:
· Soft silicone wound contact layer
applications were rated “very easy” and “highly cost effective” by providers.
· Large
fenestrations in the soft silicone wound contact layer allowed free flow of
drainage. Loss of one soft silicone wound contact layer integrity was noted one
week after CTBP application.
· HHAs/SNFs nursing staff were able to
easily change secondary dressings without disruption of the CTBP.
· 4 of 15 patients were able to remove
the secondary dressing and shower.
· Pain scores on soft silicone wound
contact layer dressing removal was consistently 2 or less (mean .5).
· No adverse events were seen.
Conclusion: A Soft Silicone Wound Contact Layer
is a viable option for securing CTBPs.
· Provides the ability to change out
dressing and examine skin without disruption of the applied cell-based therapy.
· Allows improved quality of life for
patients, as no disruption was encountered while patient showered.
· Empowers staff at alternative
setting sites to evaluate and care for patient, reducing clinic visits and
costs without compromising cell-based therapy integrity.
· Avoids complications associated with
sutures, staples, and closure strips.
· Further
study is warranted.
Catherine T. Milne APRN, MSN,
ANP/CS-BC, CWOCN-AP
Connecticut
Clinical Nursing Associates, LLC Bristol Hospital Center for Wound and
Hyperbaric Medicine Bristol, Connecticut
Silflex® Soft Silicone Wound Contact Layer, distributed by medi USA, manufactured by Advancis Medical Brightwake Ltd. Sidings Road Lowmoor Business Park Kirkby-in-Ashfield Nottinghamshire NG17 7JZ United Kingdom
1. Al-Mubarak and Al-Haddab M. Cutaneous
Wound Closure Materials: An Overview and Update. J Cutan Aesthet Surg.
2013;6(4):178–188.