Placental Extract Gel for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Reduction
Placental-derived products, including placental membrane allografts, demonstrate moderate-quality evidence for improving diabetic foot ulcer healing when added to standard wound care, with superior healing rates at 6 and 12 weeks compared to standard care alone.
Evidence for Placental Products in DFU Management
The available evidence supports the use of placental-derived therapies as adjunctive treatment for diabetic foot ulcers:
Moderate-quality evidence from 11 randomized controlled trials demonstrates that placental membrane allografts improve the proportion of completely healed ulcers at both 6 and 12 weeks when added to standard wound care 1.
Placental products contain cells, extracellular matrix, and regulatory cytokines that promote cell proliferation, modulation, and cytokine secretion necessary for wound healing 2.
One RCT showed placental membrane allografts were superior to allogeneic skin substitutes, though this finding requires replication in additional studies 1.
Clinical Application
When considering placental products for diabetic foot ulcers:
These products are particularly useful for unresponsive, chronic diabetic foot ulcers that have failed standard wound care 2.
Case series data shows successful healing of 4-week chronic ulcers with weekly application of placental amniotic membrane dressing for 3 weeks after debridement 2.
Placental products should supplement—not replace—standard diabetic foot ulcer management including debridement, infection control, vascular assessment, off-loading, and glycemic control 3.
Important Caveats
While evidence exists for placentally-derived products, the broader category of novel therapies for diabetic foot ulcers has limited randomized controlled trial data, making definitive efficacy conclusions uncertain 3.
The evidence base requires further high-quality studies to establish optimal protocols and confirm superiority over other advanced wound therapies 4, 1.
Standard wound care principles (debridement, pressure redistribution, vascular assessment, infection control) remain the foundation of treatment and must be optimized before or concurrent with placental product application 5.