Can Alloderm Really Be Totally Absorbed or Disappear?

Alloderm is a matrix that becomes living structural tissue. I recently published a 12-year follow-up on a revision breast reconstruction case, and the Alloderm had not diminished. However, not all acellular dermal matrix products are created in a way that supports this transformation.

Acellular dermal matrix does not “totally absorb or disappear”; instead it integrates ( becomes part of) the patient's surrounding tissues. For example, when we are operating on patients who have had acellular dermal matrix used in the past, it is commonplace to see the previously used matrix integrated and still present. Hope this, and the attached link, helps.

AlloDerm does not disappear.  It is a regenerative tissue matrix where your own natural blood vessels and tissue integrates into the AlloDerm matrix.  Hope this helps.

Alloderm is an a-cellular dermis that should incorporate into a patient's own tissue. During re-operations, I have visualized Alloderm fully incorporated but have also seen the situation where the Alloderm does not fully integrate. It may be adherent in certain places but not in others which is not concerning and does not usually cause a problem - simply an incidental finding in the OR. I have actually never seen the Alloderm "disappear or disintegrate". If in an infected area, the Alloderm can thin and loose its integrity but typically doesn't completely go away. Hope this helps.