Cultured stratified epithelium for grafting was prepared using human keratinocytes. In the field of plastic surgery, many patients who received grafts of cultured epithelium have been reported. However, no case in the maxillofacial region has been reported. Here we report 2 cases of traumatic scars in the maxillofacial region that were treated by cultured epithelium.
The patients were a 21-year-old man and a 9-year-old boy who complained of deformity due to a traumatic scar. In both cases, small skin segments, 1-2cm2, were obtained before operation, and epithelial cells were cultured by the methods of Green et al, using 3T3 cells as the feeder layer. After 3 weeks, 175-350cm2 cultured epithelium was prepared. Then, surgical debridment of the scar was carried out, and cultured epithelium was grafted onto the epithelial defects. Cultured epithelium was completely taken within 1 week. Subsequently, that the surface of the graft became smooth and pigmentation faded away.
