Rewards and risks are often closely balanced in medicine. Chris Sprague, a 50-year-old tech consultant, came to understand this deeply after having a malignant sarcoma removed from his right leg.
To navigate the complex recovery process, he found the partner he needed in his Endeavor Health team to guide him through innovative treatments on his path to wound healing.
His seamless support began with his family medicine physician, Jonathan Hartley Seyfert, MD, and extended to surgical oncologist Melissa Hogg, MD, along with experts in Endeavor Health’s specialized wound clinic.
“My primary care doctor is with Endeavor Health, and it is a great system,” said Sprague.
“For oncology, the cancer center was amazing. My oncology surgeon, Dr. Hogg, and her team were in regular contact with me to gauge the healing of my wound. When I needed options because a wound was not healing, Dr. Hogg and her team referred me to the wound clinic within Endeavor Health. Even after the wound was slow to heal over two months, Dr. Hogg and her team did not stop coming up with options until I was healed,” he said.
The alternative they found was the 3C Patch®, a technology from Reapplix Inc., that makes a autologous blood-based therapy product from a patient’s own blood. The Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Wound Care, Hyperbaric and Lymphedema Center was the first to adopt the 3C Patch in Illinois in September 2024 and have successfully used it on many patients.
The challenge of radiation-induced wounds
In May and June 2025, Sprague had 25 rounds of radiation before the sarcoma and surrounding cancerous tissue were surgically removed. In late August, however, the wound re-opened, which is common with radiation patients, and Sprague started initial wound therapy with physical therapists.
Even with wound therapy, the tumor bed and surgical margins did not rapidly close. This often happens as part of the radiation-induced fibrosis process, where the outermost layer of the skin (epidermis) becomes fragile and thin, underlying layers transform into dense scar tissue, and blood vessels that are essential in supplying oxygen and nutrients for healing are damaged.
Sprague started more aggressive options in September 2025. The first treatment steps involved placing a wound vacuum over the site with co-coinciding wound therapy three times a week. This included using a wound vacuum 24 hours a day.
Introducing advanced wound care
After two months, in November 2025, Dr. Hogg recommended that Sprague consult with Andrew Agos, MD, a general and acute care surgeon and Medical Director of the Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Wound Care, Hyperbaric and Lymphedema Center.
Michael McCormack, MD, a general surgeon with Endeavor Health, was part of the treatment team with Dr. Agos, and recommended using the 3C Patch technology. Sprague is one of the first patients to undergo such treatment.
“The 3C Patch is a novel technology that intuitively makes sense,” Dr. Agos said. “We are proud to say that we were the first wound care center in Illinois to embrace this technology. Using a patient's own biology to boost their body to repair itself will potentially help minimize some of the barriers to wound healing, like allergic responses to products or infections.”
Harnessing the body’s own healing power
According to Sandy Lufrano, executive account manager for the Chicago region with Reapplix Inc., the company was founded on the belief that every patient possesses the biological components necessary to support wound healing. The 3C Patch harnesses those natural healing mechanisms by creating an autologous leukocyte and platelet-rich fibrin patch from the patient's own blood at the point of care.
Using a small blood sample and a proprietary preparation process, the 3C Patch is produced without additional additives or reagents. The resulting patch contains a dense fibrin scaffold enriched with the patient's own platelets and leukocytes (white blood cells), which can be placed directly onto the wound to work alongside standard wound care.
Lufrano noted: “3C Patch is intended for use on non-healing wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and mechanically or surgically debrided wounds. By utilizing the patient's own biological material, the system provides clinicians with a practical regenerative medicine solution that can be prepared and applied during a routine clinic visit.”
Every two to three weeks, Sprague had a blood collection, patch preparation and application — in all taking about 20 minutes. The staff at the wound center was trained by Reapplix about how to create the patch in the center without the need for added equipment.
Faster healing and lasting results
Sprague said: “The 3C Patch meant I would not have to wear the wound vac for as long and have as many dressing changes. 3C Patch significantly expedited the wound closure. The wound finally closed in May 2026. Without the graft, I know it would still be open today, and I'd likely have a few months to go.”
According to Lufrano, doctors are seeing impressive results with the 3C Patch on many hard-to-heal wounds, including diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, pressure injuries, and post-surgical wounds.
Even when standard treatments have stalled, the patch has helped jumpstart healing, shrinking wound size, growing healthy new tissue, and finally closing wounds that had refused to heal.
“The 3C Patch represents an exciting and new emerging technology. The future of bioengineering of tissue will present options and alternatives for patients, not just in wound care but other areas of medicine and surgery. At the Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital Wound Care, Hyperbaric and Lymphedema Center, we are constantly exploring new and novel approaches to assist our patients,” said Dr. McCormack.
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