Living epidermal and dermal substitutes for treatment of severely burned patients
Benathan, M.; Labidi-Ubaldi, F.
Revue Medicale de la Suisse Romande 118(2): 149-153
1998
ISSN/ISBN: 0035-3655 PMID: 9553468 Document Number: 495477
Epidermal and dermal cells can be multiplied in vitro using different techniques. Under particular conditions, the structure and the function of the original tissues are partly recreated. Autologous epidermal substitutes for wound coverage in deep burns are prepared in less than three weeks. Bilayered skin equivalents containing a dermal component are obtained by growing epidermal cells on a reconstructed dermal substitute or by juxtaposing stratified cultures of keratinocytes and fibroblasts. New technologies are required to optimise the nutrition of three-dimensional cultures of skin cells, which should lead to further progress in the area of skin reconstruction.