Benefits of Aerosolized, Point-of-care, Autologous Skin Cell Suspension (ASCS) for the Closure of full Thickness Wounds from Thermal and Non-Thermal Causes

Objective: To determine the utility of Autologous Skin Cell Suspension (ASCS) in closing full-thickness (FT) defects from injury and infection. Summary Background Data: Although ASCS has documented success in closing partial-thickness burns, far less is known about the efficacy of ASCS in FT defects. Methods: Fifty consecutive patients with FT defects (burn 17, necrotizing infection 13, crush 7, degloving 5, other 8) underwent closure with the bilayer technique of 3:1 widely-meshed, thin, split-thickness skin graft and 80:1 expanded ASCS. End points were limb salvage rate, donor site reduction, operative and hospital throughput, incidence of complications, and re-epithelialization by 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Results: Definitive wound closure was achieved in 76%, 94%, and 98% of patients, at 4, 8, and 12 weeks, respectively. Limb salvage occurred in 42/43 patients (10 upper, 33 lower extremities). Mean area grafted was 435 cm2; donor site size was 212 cm2, representing a potential reduction of 50%. Mean surgical time was 71 minutes; total OR time was 124 minutes. Mean length-of-stay was 26.4 days; time from grafting to discharge was 11.2 days. 4/50 patients (8%) required 6 reoperations for bleeding (1), breakdown (4), and amputation (1). 4/50 patients (8%) developed hypertrophic scarring, which responded to silicone sheeting (2) and laser resurfacing (2). Mean follow-up was 92.7 days. Conclusion: When used for closure of FT wounds, point-of-care ASCS is effective and safe. Benefits include rapid re-epithelialization, high rate of limb salvage, reduction of donor site size and morbidity, and low incidence of hypertrophic scarring.