Catherine T. Milne, MSN, APRN, CWOCN-AP, will present “Dressed for Success: Cases in Collagen” at WoundCon Spring on Friday, March 10, 2023. WoundSource had the chance to speak with her to learn more about the upcoming session and what she hopes attendees will take away from the discussion. According to the WoundCon website, the presentation will allow for immersion in the topic, using relevant case studies to help guide clinicians through the process of selecting the best dressing for a multitude of scenarios. The session description states that although collagen is “available in many forms, collagen wound dressings support a moist wound healing environment, encourage the deposition of new collagen fibers, support new tissue growth and granulation tissue formation in the wound bed.”

Collagen: Practical Applications

Milne said that the learning objectives include understanding where collagen comes from, what it does in the body during normal and abnormal wound healing, and when clinicians should use collagen-based products. Milne said she is often asked why she chose to speak on this topic. She attributed her interest in the subject to her observation that many clinicians don’t understand where collagen comes from, how and when to select it for patients, and where to best use it across the wound care continuum.

"I think this is a really crucial topic because there are so many collagens and so many reasons to use them in wounds that are hard to heal, and even some that are really aren’t hard to heal, but may be an issue down the road,” she said. “I want attendees to learn about how to use all kinds of collagen dressings in wound practice."

When a clinician participates in the session, she said she hopes they will walk away with practical of information, such as:

• How is collagen made in the body?
• How is collagen manufactured?
• How do manufacturers convert collagen into a dressing form?
• What is the importance of cross linking?
• What are the benefits and drawbacks of native collagen, or a hydrolyzed collagen?
• Is an additive desirable in the dressing, and if so, what kind?

Overall, Milne, Co-Chair of WoundCon Spring and Clinical Editor for WoundSource, hopes to show how this dressing modality can help facilitate healing and to solve some of the its surrounding mysteries. She shared that she will outline several opportunities that commonly arise in wound care practice where collagen could be a valuable tool. “I think collagen is a very unique material, because our body makes it, we can get it from plants or animals, and also, some new innovations are synthetic,” she said. “I think that will allow us to treat our patients very differently and efficiently.” WoundCon Spring is a virtual conference scheduled for March 10, 2023. Interested prospective attendees can register for a complimentary standard pass or choose from extended pass options at www.woundcon.com.