Fat and epidermal cell suspension grafting: a new advanced one-step skin regeneration surgical technique

BACKGROUND Dystrophic skin scarring commonly occurs following skin cancer resections. In particular, the cosmetic outcome of skin graft reconstructions, following epidermoidal carcinoma removal, is generally poor due to wide marginal tumour excision, loss of subcutaneous tissues, and subsequent pigmented atrophic scarring of the graft coverage. Skin grafting sequelae need a three dimensional correction to restore either the epidermal layer or the dermal/subdermal volume and vascularization. METHODS The surgeons combined CO2 laser ablation, subdermal lipofilling according to the Coleman's technique and epidermal cell suspension autografting to correct wide depressed and dyschromic facial scar. The Authors applied this new technique on three nasal skin cancer resected patients: two of them actually need a longer follow-up, the third patient, a 48 yr old caucasian male, presented a skin grafting scar due to sclerodermiform basal cell carcinoma removal. This case is reported discussing pre-intra and post-operative records up to a complete twelve months follow-up. RESULTS Records at six and twelve months follow-up after surgery demonstrate a fully integrated skin graft and a good restoration of the treated area, presenting the same texture and pigmentation of the adjacent untreated skin. Optimal, stable three-dimensional skin cosmetic restoration was obtained in a single stage surgical procedure. CONCLUSION Autologous non-cultured epidermal cell suspension transplantation on an epidermal laser ablated skin area, in combination with lipofilling subdermal reconstruction, appears to be an effective, simple and time-saving method to correct skin graft sequelae, in skin cancer patients. This new technique allows to restore a three-dimensional morphological structure of the treated area and to recover a natural appearance of the skin at the same time. The Authors believe that this technique can be safely used to treat any kind of dystrophic scarring.