Growth factors in surgery.

Surgical reconstruction of functional and aesthetic defects is often compromised by donor-tissue limitations and wound-healing constraints--problems that can potentially be overcome by peptide growth factor therapy. The effectiveness of growth factor therapy in animal models and in limited human clinical trials has been realized. Epidermal growth factor (EGF), fibroblast growth factor (FGF), platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), platelet-derived wound-healing formula (PDWHF), transforming growth factor (TGF), the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), and general considerations of growth factor therapy are reviewed.