Discover how cryomedicine is transforming the treatment of chronic purulent wounds that resist conventional therapies
Imagine a wound that refuses to heal, persisting for weeks, months, or even years, constantly at risk of infection and causing relentless pain. For millions of patients worldwide, this is a devastating reality. Purulent chronic wounds represent a massive clinical challenge, burdening healthcare systems with costs exceeding $25 billion annually in the USA alone and significantly impairing patients' quality of life 3 .
Chronic wounds affect approximately 2% of the population in developed countries, with prevalence increasing due to aging populations and rising rates of diabetes and obesity.
Surgeons have long faced the dilemma of how to jumpstart the body's stalled healing processes in these stubborn wounds. Now, emerging from the frosty frontiers of medical science comes an unexpected ally: extreme cold. Far beyond simply icing injuries, modern cryomedicine has evolved into a sophisticated field using precisely controlled freezing techniques to transform wound care. This article explores how surgeons are combining sub-zero temperatures with biological therapies to successfully treat wounds that once seemed beyond repair.
More Than Just Ice
Controlled application of extreme cold to wound surfaces to stimulate healing response and reduce inflammation 1 .
Using super-cooled probes to precisely destroy necrotic tissue with minimal bleeding 1 .
Using ultra-low temperatures to preserve biologically active substances like cord blood serum for therapeutic use 1 .
To understand why cold works, we must first grasp why some wounds refuse to heal. Normal wound healing follows an orderly sequence: inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling. However, in chronic wounds, this process stalls in the inflammatory stage, trapped in a destructive cycle where the body's own defense mechanisms become part of the problem 3 .
The wound environment becomes flooded with destructive enzymes and pro-inflammatory cytokines that break down newly formed tissue faster than it can be created 7 . At the molecular level, the balance of crucial healing biomarkers is disrupted—matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) overwhelm their inhibitors, growth factors are degraded, and cellular communication breaks down 7 .
Orderly progression through inflammation, proliferation, and remodeling phases.
Stalled in inflammatory phase with disrupted cellular communication.
Testing Cryo-Biological Therapy
A groundbreaking 2025 study conducted at N.N. Burdenko Voronezh State Medical University in Russia put an innovative cryo-biological treatment to the test, with striking results 5 .
Researchers created standardized purulent wounds in all subjects to simulate the human clinical condition.
The animals were divided into three equal groups with distinct treatment protocols.
Researchers systematically tracked multiple healing indicators over the course of healing.
The experimental group demonstrated dramatically improved healing trajectories across every measured parameter. By day 7, the differences in wound closure were already striking.
| Group | Treatment | Day 7 Wound Area (mm²) | Microbial Load (Day 3) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group 1 | No treatment | 34.4 ± 4.8 | 10⁵–10⁸ CFU/mL |
| Group 2 | BMP only | 29.3 ± 4.6 | 10⁵–10⁸ CFU/mL |
| Group 3 | BMP + VDMB | 20.7 ± 4.7 | 10²–10³ CFU/mL |
The data reveals that the VDMB treatment reduced wound area by approximately 40% compared to untreated controls and by nearly 30% compared to standard antiseptic treatment alone 5 .
| Healing Parameter | Group 1 (No Treatment) | Group 2 (BMP Only) | Group 3 (BMP + VDMB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inflammation Resolution | Slow | Moderate | Rapid |
| Granulation Tissue Formation | Delayed and disordered | Moderate | Early and well-organized |
| Microbial Control | None | Moderate | Excellent |
| Tissue Architecture Restoration | Incomplete, rough scarring | Partial | Nearly complete, delicate scarring |
The VDMB group achieved a remarkable reduction of 1000 to 1,000,000-fold in bacterial counts, suggesting that the maral blood preparation possesses significant antimicrobial properties beyond simply stimulating tissue repair 5 .
Essential Research Reagents
The advances in cryo-treatment of purulent wounds depend on specialized biological materials and reagents. Each component serves a specific purpose in the wound healing toolkit.
| Reagent/Material | Function and Application |
|---|---|
| Cryopreserved Cord Blood Serum | Provides immune-modulating factors and growth signals; stimulates regenerative processes 1 |
| Vacuum-Dried Maral Blood (VDMB) | Delivers concentrated growth factors and antimicrobial substances; accelerates wound contraction and cleansing 5 |
| Benzyldimethyl-myristoylamino-propylammonium (BMP) | Serves as antiseptic foundation treatment; controls microbial growth in wound bed 5 |
| Lidase Enzyme | Loosens intercellular connections in lymphatic capillaries; enhances penetration of antibiotics into circulation 6 |
| Cytokine Complexes | Regulates inflammatory response; promotes ordered healing without excessive inflammation |
| Vacuum Therapy Devices | Creates controlled negative pressure; removes excess exudate and improves blood flow 1 |
Ukrainian researchers have pioneered the use of cryopreserved cord blood serum, which contains a powerful concentrate of immune-modulating substances and growth factors 1 .
VDMB provides concentrated growth factors and antimicrobial substances that dramatically accelerate wound contraction and cleansing 5 .
Where Cryomedicine is Headed
Ukrainian researchers have already demonstrated the powerful synergy of combining cryopreserved cord blood serum with vacuum therapy 1 .
Analysis of wound exudate for specific biomarkers may soon guide clinicians in selecting optimal cryo-treatment for each patient 7 .
Combining proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics to create comprehensive molecular maps of the healing process 3 .
The most exciting frontier lies in multi-omics approaches that combine proteomics, lipidomics, and metabolomics to create comprehensive molecular maps of the healing process 3 . By understanding exactly which molecular pathways are disrupted in chronic wounds, researchers can develop precisely targeted cryo-biological treatments that intervene at the right point in the healing cascade.
The battle against stubborn purulent wounds is entering a new era, one where the paradoxical healing power of cold offers hope where conventional treatments have failed. By combining advanced cryotechnologies with biological therapies derived from cord blood and other sources, medical professionals are learning to reprogram the body's stalled healing processes.
As research continues to unravel the molecular mysteries of wound healing, cryomedicine stands poised to deliver increasingly sophisticated and effective treatments. The future of wound care may well be found not in increasingly powerful drugs, but in harnessing the body's own regenerative potential—unlocked by the strategic application of extreme cold and nature's own healing signals.
For millions suffering from chronic wounds, this frozen revolution represents a long-awaited thaw in their struggle for recovery.