Over the past 20 years, Dr. Harold Brem has worked with patients to heal their complex wounds. Employing a systematic approach, in which clinical decisions are based on the microbiology of each patient's wound tissue, this information is then used to develop a multifaceted treatment plan, employing regenerative medicine therapies to stimulate the growth of new, healthy tissue. He is engaged in ongoing clinical wound research and investigating new approaches to wound healing. The most difficult wounds can be healed through state-of-the-art wound care.
Dr. Brem has been practicing medicine and conducting research in the New York metropolitan area for the past two decades, specializing in the treatment of chronic, non-healing wounds. In addition to his extensive clinical experience as a surgeon operating on patients with diabetic foot ulcers and other chronic wounds, Dr. Brem has published over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters in the area of wound healing. He has also applied for or been granted numerous U.S. patents related to the treatment of chronic wounds.
Dr. Brem's accomplishments include developing the first evidence-based clinical protocols for diabetic foot ulcers—protocols, which have since been adopted by clinicians around the world; identifying, along with his longtime research partner Marjana Tomic-Canic, PhD, the first gene, known as c-myc, demonstrated to impair wound healing; establishing the first cell bank for patients with diabetic foot ulcers, a resource that continues to facilitate the study of wound healing in patients with diabetes among researchers everywhere; and elucidating the molecular mechanisms responsible for impaired wound healing in elderly patients with diabetic foot ulcers—a mechanism that involves a synergy between specific physiological impairments due to diabetes, and other specific impairments due to aging.
With the support of the National Institute on Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), Dr. Brem and his team have also led the way in developing innovative surgical debridement techniques that utilize molecular markers to guide removal of wound tissue, in order to maximize wound healing while minimizing the number of debridement procedures required for healing. These debridement procedures have now become the standard care for treating diabetic foot ulcers that pose a risk of limb loss. Dr. Brem and his colleagues also published the first article describing a new regenerative cellular therapy for patients with diabetic foot ulcers, involving the use of human fibroblast keritanocytes and stem cells—an approach that promises to further decrease the risk of limb loss in patients with diabetes.
In addition to his own clinical research activities on various aspects of wound healing, Dr. Brem has mentored a number of clinical diabetes researchers in training, including research fellows, medical students pursuing sub-specialties in clinical research and diabetes, and junior faculty members learning to apply their own specialty areas to help improve outcomes for patients with diabetic foot ulcers and other complex wounds.
Philosophy
Dr. Brem is a general surgeon specializing in wound healing with a focus on patients with diabetic ulcers, venous ulcers, and bedsores. He believes that practically every wound can heal, no matter the complexity. His approach is to first understand the underlying conditions preventing the healing process from occurring, and then to develop a treatment plan tailored to each patient’s wound, using all of the therapeutic options available to ensure optimal healing. He is dedicated to treating the whole patient and improving each patient’s overall quality of life. He has published widely in the field of wound healing, maintains an active research program, and brings his extensive clinical experience to treating every patient’s wound. You can learn more about him, his research and publications, and his practice at newjerseywoundhealing.org
Accepted Health Plan information is only as accurate as the most current
information submitted. Prior to your appointment, it is advisable to verify
with a physician office that they are still a participating provider.
