Frozen human epidermal allogeneic cultures promote rapid healing of facial dermabrasion wounds

BACKGROUND. Clinical studies have shown that cultured human epidermal allogenic sheets promote faster reepithelization of skin donor sites and deep partial-thickness wounds. OBJECTIVE. We describe the results of a controlled, clinical study of facial dermabrasion sites heated with a single application of frozen cultured human allogenic epidermal sheets that were thawed for 5-10 minutes at room temperature before application. METHODS. Ten patients with scars from acne or of other etiology underwent facial dermabrasion. One side of the face was treated with the frozen and thawed cultures, the other side was treated with standard dry dressing. RESULTS. The epidermal cultures promoted faster reepithelization of the wounds, 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 was 42% (P = 4.82 x 10(-7)) Pain was reduced in sites treated with the thawed cultures, CONCLUSION. Epidermal allogenic cultures, preserved by freezing, promoted significantly faster reepithelization and reduced pain intensity of dermabraded facial wounds, suggesting that they could be used routinely to improve the recovery from dermabrasion.