Singing River Health System is the first in Mississippi to offer 3D-printed tissue graft technology designed to treat chronic wounds.
The Gulf Coast healthcare provider now features APLICOR 3D, a hyper-personalized, 3D-bioprinting platform that uses a patient’s own adipose tissue to create customized grafts for acute and chronic wounds. A graft is a piece of healthy tissue or organ that is transferred from one part of the body to another to repair or replace damaged or diseased tissue.
“We’re thrilled by the early outcomes,” Dr. Jason Payne, the first surgeon in Mississippi to use the APLICOR 3D system, said. “These results reaffirm Singing River’s mission to bring the latest, most impactful technologies to our community — so patients don’t have to look elsewhere for advanced care.”
When in use, APLICOR 3D begins with high-resolution imaging of a wound, followed by harvesting a small sample of the patient’s fat cells. These cells are processed into a bio-ink, then printed into a graft that fits the wound’s exact dimensions. Unlike traditional skin grafts, the APLICOR 3D graft promotes the body’s innate healing processes by creating a custom, biologically active scaffold.
In the initial two cases performed at Singing River Ocean Springs Hospital, both patients had long-standing, non-healing wounds. After receiving their personalized grafts, early signs of improved healing and tissue regeneration have been observed, according to officials at the healthcare system.
“This represents a huge leap forward in personalized wound care for Mississippi patients,” Tracy Freeman, Singing River Patient Care Manager of Wound Care, said. “By using a patient’s own cells and APLICOR 3D to produce a personalized graft, we’re providing access to cutting-edge technology in wound care when other therapies have failed.”
APLICOR 3D, developed by Tide Medical in Lafayette, La., was launched in October 2024. Singing River is not only the first in Mississippi to debut the platform but also one of the first in the U.S. to use it on patients.
