Author(s) :

Sabrina Kiung.

Volume/Issue :

Abstract :

Effective wound healing is critical for restoring both the function and appearance of damaged skin, yet chronic wounds and visible scars remain a major physical and emotional challenge. Conventional dressings primarily serve as physical barriers that prevent infection and maintain a healing-promoting environment, but do little to stimulate true tissue regeneration. Emerging research in regenerative medicine has led to the development of cell-based wound dressings, combining live cells, such as keratinocytes and stem cells, with engineered support materials. These innovations promote the release of biological signals that reduce inflammation and guide collagen organization (crucial to effective and scarless healing), resulting in more functional and aesthetically improved outcomes. In particular, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) and bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMSCs) have demonstrated the ability to accelerate wound closure and minimize fibrosis by producing regenerative signals at the wound site. Dressings arising from the natural regeneration of fetal skin repair provide further direction for designing future therapies that promote complete scarless healing. Although fetal-cell-based treatments display strong potential, ethical and practical challenges remain. This paper reviews current progress in cell-based wound dressings and explores how insights from fetal healing could help achieve faster, more effective, and scarless wound repair in the future.