Growth factor therapy to improve soft tissue healing.

The advent of new U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved products containing growth factors to improve soft tissue healing signifies a new era for wound healing. Over the last decade, some clinical growth factor studies have been promising, whereas others have not shown any positive effect. What many of these studies have shown is that the state of a healing wound is not only dependent on its growth factor milieu but also on other variables (wound care, tissue oxygen state, bacteria count, and nutritional status of the patient). This article describes recent progress with growth factors on soft tissue structures (skin, mucosa, and nerve) relevant to the facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon.