| Dr. Stelnicki is one of the
leading plastic surgery researchers in south Florida. He has published
over 40 pier-reviewed articles, has authored a multitude of book
chapters including his most recent chapter on endoscopic
craniosynostosis. He has been a leader in the field of in utero
surgery and scarless wound repair.
Dr. Stelnicki's research is done
currently in conjunction with the Nova Southeastern University College
of Dental Medicine and Medical Sciences. Dr. Stelnicki is an associate
professor at Nova Southeastern University and Florida Atlantic
University, and a assistant professor at Ohio State University.
Dr. Stelnicki is one of the few plastic
surgery research scientists in the world to have received support from
the National Institutes of Health through an RO1 basic science
research grant. This grant supports Dr. Stelnicki's research into
tissue regeneration and healing wounds without scars.
Dr. Stelnicki's research projects
have three primary focuses.
The first focus is to regenerate tissue
that has been injured and to heal it without any evidence of obvious
visible scar. Many patients who have undergone craniofacial surgery,
such as cleft lip and palate repair, retain the stigmata of their
malformation in the form of a scar. Dr. Stelnicki is working with a
novel set of DNA-controlling genes called homeobox genes to try and
convince the body's tissues to regenerate themselves after injury or
following surgery, and to heal without any evidence of any scar
formation. This work was stimulated by the fact that the mammalian
fetus, when injured, heals all of its skin wounds without scar. Dr.
Stelnicki is hoping to learn from the scar-healing stem cells in the
fetal skin and replicate this technology in adults. It is hoped that
through his work, scar healing and tissue regeneration will extend not
only to skin but also to damaged heart tissue, liver tissue,
intestinal tissue, and many other parts of the body that are
compromised by scar following injury.
Shown here is an example of scarless
wound healing.(figure) On the left is a normal piece of tissue after
wouning that has healed with scar. There is very irregular collagen
deposition and thick, abnormal tissue which lacks any hair follicles
in the wound site. On the right, is tissue that healed without scar.
This fetal-like tissue healed in a much more orderly fashion through a
process of tissue regeneration rather than classic scar-forming wound
repair.
Dr. Stelnicki is also researching new
techniques for improving treatment of a multitude of cleft and
craniofacial problems. He is the designer of one of the first
commercially available sets of instruments for endoscopic surgical
repair of craniosynostosis. He has designed a set of instruments which
are now being sold to other doctors world wide that allow for
minimally invasive surgery to be done for the treatment of
craniosynostosis and these instruments are shown in his textbook
chapter on endoscopic craniosynostosis repair.
Dr. Stelnicki is also helping to
identify better treatments of cleft lip and palate. Dr. Stelnicki's
work at Nova Southeastern University School of Dental Medicine is
continually advancing the application of nasal alveolar molding,
making it more user friendly, faster, and more easily tolerated by the
patient.
Dr. Stelnicki is also analyzing the
biologic causes for craniosynostosis. He is looking at transcription
factors that are abnormally effecting the DNA within the fusing
future. He is using the only true model for craniosynostosis for
discovering how these genes function.
Dr. Stelnicki is still working with Joe
DiMaggio Children's Hospital to develop methodology for in utero
surgical repair of cranial anomalies. It is his long-term goal to be
able to fix cleft and craniofacial anomalies within the womb, before
the child is born, so that when the child enters the world for the
first time, the primary craniofacial deformity will either have been
corrected or repaired.
Other research interests include bone
contraction, especially in regard to orbital hypertelorism, Crouzon's,
and Apert syndrome and abnormal ear position such as in craniofacial
microsomia. He works with cranial technologies to create different
molding helmets for treating positional plagiocephaly. He has also
patented a device that prevents deformational molding from occurring.
This device not only reduces the risk of sudden infant death syndrome,
but also decreased the need for molding helmets by preventing
positional plagiocephaly. |
