Author(s)

Waylon M. Zeng¹, Anamaria Parus¹, Connor W. Barnes², Matthew E. Hiro^1,2,3, Martin C. Robson², Wyatt G. Payne^1,2,3*

¹College of Medicine, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
²Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA.
³Institute for Tissue Regeneration, Repair, and Rehabilitation, Surgical Service, Department of Veteran Affairs, Bay Pines VA Health System, Bay Pines, FL, USA.

Aloe vera has been used for centuries for medicinal purposes. Clinical and experimental evidence indicates usefulness for skin moisturization, promoting wound healing, thermal skin injury, frostbite, and ischemic skin insults. Aloe vera has anti-inflammatory, vasodilatory, antimicrobial, and proliferative actions, which have been investigated in various experimental models and in various in vitro studies. This extensive literature review of the properties and actions of Aloe vera finds substantial evidence for the reported and also likely clinical usefulness for Aloe vera in Plastic Surgery and in wound care and wound healing. Though further clinical investigation is warranted, Aloe vera use may likely be indicated in situations where its effects could positively influence outcomes, such as wound healing, flap vascularity, and inflammatory skin pathologies.

Aloe vera, Wound Healing, Anti-Inflammatory, Prostaglandin, Anti-Microbial, Anti-Oxidant, Angiogenesis

Zeng, W. , Parus, A. , Barnes, C. , Hiro, M. , Robson, M. and Payne, W. (2020) Aloe vera—Mechanisms of Action, Uses, and Potential Uses in Plastic Surgery and Wound Healing. Surgical Science, 11, 312-328. doi: 10.4236/ss.2020.1110033.