Amnion/chorion grafts and their applications in urology

The use of human amnion/chorion membranes in wound healing and skin grafting dates back to the early 1900s (1-4). Widespread use of these graft materials has been limited by concerns with sourcing, storage, preparation, and the potential for transmission of infectious diseases (including hepatitis C) (4). Recent developments allowing processed tissue allografts to be stored as dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane (dHACM) has addressed these issues and led to a revitalized interest in potential applications. The advantages of these processed grafts are that they retain their biologically active growth/regulatory factors over a prolonged shelf life (5,6). This has led to extensive use of dHACM across a variety of fields including ophthalmology, pediatric neurosurgery, gynecology, plastic surgery, wound care, oral/maxillofacial surgery, and urology (7)