2026-02-24
Severely burned patients: where does tissue reconstruction stand?
Dermatology and Venereology
By Elodie Vaz | Published on February 24, 2026 | 3 min read
The tragedy that struck Crans-Montana on the night of January 1, 2026, at the Le Constellation bar claimed the lives of more than forty people and left dozens of young individuals with severe burns. The event starkly highlights how the management of severely burned patients remains a major challenge for modern medicine. Among roughly fifty victims with extensive burns, specialized Swiss and European centers are working to stabilize vital functions, prevent complications, and initiate skin reconstruction—a process that can last months or even years.
In this demanding clinical context, recent advances in tissue repair—particularly involving mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and their derivatives—offer new perspectives. First described in the late 1960s by Alexander Friedenstein, MSCs were initially identified in bone marrow as a fibroblast-like population. In the 1990s, it was demonstrated that MSCs possess multipotent differentiation capacity as well as the ability to secrete numerous trophic factors involved in angiogenesis, modulation of inflammation, and cell survival.
These mechanisms have proven essential in tissue repair and regeneration processes. “In the early 2000s, we developed a protocol for isolating and culturing these cells from bone marrow, tailored to their application in repairing accidental localized radiation-induced burns. This marked a foundational step in recognizing these cells as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs),” recalled Jean-Jacques Lataillade, Director of the Armed Forces Blood Transfusion Center (HNIA PERCY), during a press conference at the Academy of Surgery on February 11.
However, clinical implementation involves logistical, biological, and regulatory constraints. Therapeutic mechanisms rely less on direct cellular differentiation than on interactions between MSCs and their environment via their secretome, which includes cytokines, growth factors, and, notably, extracellular vesicles (EVs).
These EVs—lipid-bound structures containing active biomolecules—largely reproduce the biological effects of their parent cells both in vitro and in vivo. Their stability, ease of storage, and potential for administration outside cell production platforms have led to the emergence of an acellular therapy paradigm. French research is highly active in this field. Although these products do not fall under ATMP status, they are classified as biological medicinal products and are generating both academic and industrial development.
A concrete illustration of this evolution is the collaborative BRAVE project between INSERM, the French Armed Forces Health Service, and Brothier. The project aims to integrate MSC-derived EVs into a calcium alginate dressing—a support already routinely used for severely burned patients—in order to accelerate graft take and wound healing. This type of approach, combining cell biology and biomaterials engineering, could help reduce the time required for skin reconstruction in contexts such as Crans-Montana, where grafting procedures and dressing changes under anesthesia remain demanding and repetitive steps.
In cases of deep burns, reconstructive surgery remains essential, involving excision of necrotic tissue and skin grafting—often autologous—to restore the integrity of the skin barrier. However, integrating paracrine or acellular therapies may ultimately optimize graft take, modulate local inflammation, and reduce functional sequelae.
Thus, tissue reconstruction for severely burned patients is evolving toward integrated strategies that combine advanced surgical interventions, biological modulation, and pharmacological innovation. Although technical and regulatory challenges remain, these developments offer promising avenues to improve both the speed and quality of healing following severe trauma.
Read next: L’administration de glutamine par voie entérale ne réduirait pas le temps d’hospitalisation des grands brûlés.
About the Author – Elodie Vaz
Health journalist, CFPJ graduate (2023).
Élodie explores the marks diseases leave on bodies and, more broadly, on human life. A registered nurse since 2010, she spent twelve years at patients’ bedsides before exchanging her stethoscope for a notebook. She now investigates the links between environment and health, convinced that the vitality of life cannot be reduced to that of humans alone.
The tragedy that struck Crans-Montana on the night of January 1, 2026, at the Le Constellation bar claimed the lives of more than forty people and left dozens of young individuals with severe burns. The event starkly highlights how the management of severely burned patients remains a major challenge for modern medicine. Among roughly fifty victims with extensive burns, specialized Swiss and European centers are working to stabilize vital functions, prevent complications, and initiate skin reconstruction—a process that can last months or even years.
In this demanding clinical context, recent advances in tissue repair—particularly involving mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) and their derivatives—offer new perspectives. First described in the late 1960s by Alexander Friedenstein, MSCs were initially identified in bone marrow as a fibroblast-like population. In the 1990s, it was demonstrated that MSCs possess multipotent differentiation capacity as well as the ability to secrete numerous trophic factors involved in angiogenesis, modulation of inflammation, and cell survival.
MSCs: a foundational discovery for tissue repair
These mechanisms have proven essential in tissue repair and regeneration processes. “In the early 2000s, we developed a protocol for isolating and culturing these cells from bone marrow, tailored to their application in repairing accidental localized radiation-induced burns. This marked a foundational step in recognizing these cells as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs),” recalled Jean-Jacques Lataillade, Director of the Armed Forces Blood Transfusion Center (HNIA PERCY), during a press conference at the Academy of Surgery on February 11.
The secretome at the core of new treatments
However, clinical implementation involves logistical, biological, and regulatory constraints. Therapeutic mechanisms rely less on direct cellular differentiation than on interactions between MSCs and their environment via their secretome, which includes cytokines, growth factors, and, notably, extracellular vesicles (EVs).
These EVs—lipid-bound structures containing active biomolecules—largely reproduce the biological effects of their parent cells both in vitro and in vivo. Their stability, ease of storage, and potential for administration outside cell production platforms have led to the emergence of an acellular therapy paradigm. French research is highly active in this field. Although these products do not fall under ATMP status, they are classified as biological medicinal products and are generating both academic and industrial development.
Vesicles become dressings
A concrete illustration of this evolution is the collaborative BRAVE project between INSERM, the French Armed Forces Health Service, and Brothier. The project aims to integrate MSC-derived EVs into a calcium alginate dressing—a support already routinely used for severely burned patients—in order to accelerate graft take and wound healing. This type of approach, combining cell biology and biomaterials engineering, could help reduce the time required for skin reconstruction in contexts such as Crans-Montana, where grafting procedures and dressing changes under anesthesia remain demanding and repetitive steps.
Surgery and biotherapies: a combined strategy
In cases of deep burns, reconstructive surgery remains essential, involving excision of necrotic tissue and skin grafting—often autologous—to restore the integrity of the skin barrier. However, integrating paracrine or acellular therapies may ultimately optimize graft take, modulate local inflammation, and reduce functional sequelae.
Thus, tissue reconstruction for severely burned patients is evolving toward integrated strategies that combine advanced surgical interventions, biological modulation, and pharmacological innovation. Although technical and regulatory challenges remain, these developments offer promising avenues to improve both the speed and quality of healing following severe trauma.
Read next: L’administration de glutamine par voie entérale ne réduirait pas le temps d’hospitalisation des grands brûlés.
About the Author – Elodie Vaz
Health journalist, CFPJ graduate (2023).
Élodie explores the marks diseases leave on bodies and, more broadly, on human life. A registered nurse since 2010, she spent twelve years at patients’ bedsides before exchanging her stethoscope for a notebook. She now investigates the links between environment and health, convinced that the vitality of life cannot be reduced to that of humans alone.
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