title: Histological characteristics of the healing process of frozen skin allograft used in the treatment of burns.
abstract: Combined transplantation of skin autograft and allograft was used for the treatment of severe burns. The allografts were obtained from cadavers and were pretreated with 15 per cent glycerol for 2 h at 4 degrees C then frozen at -80 degrees C until used. Patches of autografts were placed over the burns and were covered by a stretched mesh of allografts. Biopsy samples of transplanted skin were obtained from 5 days to 4 weeks after grafting. Sections were examined by histological and immunohistochemical strainings. At 4 days, the epidermal-dermal junction of allografted skin was separated due to migration of epithelial cells derived from autograft epidermis or from skin appendages of recipient dermis. At 2 weeks, dermal fibroblasts and capillaries proliferated in autografts. At 3 weeks, the dermal components of the allograft were covered by epithelial cells from recipient tissue and were invaded by fibroblasts and capillaries. At 4 weeks, allografted skin was replaced by granulation tissue, which mediated the adhesion of the grafts to the underlying tissue. Skin allografts with a freeze-thawing pretreatment provide an appropriate matrix for the epithelial relining and for the growth of granulation tissue in burned skin.
authors.affiliation: Pathology and Clinical Research Laboratory, Nippon Medical School, Second Hospital, Kawasaki-shi, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Omi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Kawanami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tsujii
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kawai
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Henmi
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Ferrans
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D002102:Cadaver; D002196:Capillaries / Q000473:pathology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002465:Cell Movement; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015925:Cryopreservation; D004817:Epidermis / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000473:pathology* / Q000502:physiology; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing