At present, one of the treatments of choice for closure of full-thickness s
kin loss is to use a cultured epidermal autograft when skin loss is extensi
ve. In this study, we investigated a simple method of processing frozen sur
plus skin to produce an acellular, structurally intact, dermal matrix. Firs
t, the acellular dermal matrix prepared from normal human skin (ADM) we pro
cessed was observed using a transmission electron microscope and a scanning
electron microscope. The matrix maintained the basement membrane complex a
nd the extracellular matrix structure of the dermis despite frozen skin bei
ng used. Next, using an animal model, we transplanted the ADM and Pelnac, w
hich is used as a contrast in full-thickness wounds onto nude rats. The der
mal matric supported fibroblast infiltration and neovascularization. These
results suggest that skin processed by our simple method has the potential
to be used as a dermal template together with the cultured epidermis in the
closure of full-thickness wounds.