Frozen human epidermal allogeneic cultures promote rapid healing of facialdermabrasion wounds

BACKGROUND. Clinical studies have shown that cultured human epidermal allog enic sheets promote faster reepithelization of skin donor sites and deep pa rtial-thickness wounds. OBJECTIVE. We describe the results of a controlled, clinical study of facia l dermabrasion sites heated with a single application of frozen cultured hu man allogenic epidermal sheets that were thawed for 5-10 minutes at room te mperature before application. METHODS. Ten patients with scars from acne or of other etiology underwent f acial dermabrasion. One side of the face was treated with the frozen and th awed cultures, the other side was treated with standard dry dressing. RESULTS. The epidermal cultures promoted faster reepithelization of the wou nds, with complete reepithelization in an average time of 4.6 days, whereas controls healed in an average of 7.9 days. The reduction in healing time w as 42% (P = 4.82 x 10(-7)) Pain was reduced in sites treated with the thawe d cultures, CONCLUSION. Epidermal allogenic cultures, preserved by freezing, promoted s ignificantly faster reepithelization and reduced pain intensity of dermabra ded facial wounds, suggesting that they could be used routinely to improve the recovery from dermabrasion.