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Whether caused by ageing, illness or injury, some wounds are often very painful, slow to heal and difficult to treat. Advanced Wound Management produces and markets products for managing these difficult-to-heal wounds, speeding up the healing process and improving patient quality of life. These products include advanced polymeric gels, films and foams that create a moist environment that encourages healing; and antimicrobial dressings and ointments for treating and preventing wound infection. Increasingly sophisticated biological materials are available, such as enzyme preparations and mechanical debridement to remove dead and devitalised tissue. Benefits to patients include fewer reapplications of dressings, less discomfort and pain, faster healing and reduced risk of complications such as infection and amputation. Treatment is clinically effective and less time-consuming -and therefore more cost effective. In May 2007, Smith & Nephew entered the negative pressure wound therapy market with the acquistion of the BlueSky medical Group.

Key products include:

• ALLEVYN^◊ -highly absorbent hydrocellular dressings that keep wounds moist and maintain an optimum environment for improved healing

• ACTICOAT^◊ -nanocrystalline silver-based antimicrobial dressings for treating infected wounds

• VERSAJET^◊ -surgical debridement, a specialised fluid jet instrument to remove contaminated, dead and decaying tissue from wounds

Market value $4bn
Market growth +9%

Note: All sales growths are on an underlying basis