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Poor healing ulcerations (such as chronic leg ulcers due to insufficient venous blood flow) which have failed attempts of achieving closure via transplants may be candidates for a new method, called autologous transplantation of keratinocytes.
Principle:
Prior to applying this technique, sufficient debridement (ablation of dead tissue) and conditioning of the base of the ulcer (especially as far as bacterial superinfection is concerned, i.e. cleansing of the ulcer) , sufficient vascularization as well as iniitial granulation tissue is required.
In order to carry out this method of autologous transplantation of keratinocytes, small pieces of skin or hair from the beard or scalp area of the patient need to be harvested. Those are especially prepared, and cultivated in a special medium for 3-4 weeks. After this expansion (amplification of cell numbers), keratinocytes form confluent sheets, which are added to a fibrin matrix and then applied to the wound area. This matrix is a mrer vehicle for transportation which enhances adhesion, proliferation and migration of keratinocytes on the ulsers.
