The treatment of hypopigmented lesions with cultured epithelial autograft

Hypopigmentation may be a significant problem after burn injury. It is Ofte n difficult to predicably repair with conventional surgical techniques. It has been our experience that epidermal cells cultured from patients with da rk skin produce pigment within the epidermal cell sheets, which indicates t he presence of melanocytes. The presence of melanocytes and melanin in thes e cell sheets was demonstrated with the use of histochemical techniques. Th e results indicate that repigmentation with cultured epithelial autograft i s possible. We describe a novel technique of dermabrasion and a co-culture of epidermal cells and melanocytes.