PURPOSE To establish the efficacy and safety of ex vivo cultured autologous human conjunctival epithelial cell (hCjEC) transplantation for treatment of pterygia. METHODS Twenty-five patients with pterygia were recruited at different centers across the country. Autologous hCjEC grafts were prepared from conjunctival biopsy specimens excised from the healthy eye and cultured ex vivo on human am...

The viability of fat grafts harvested with an established technique after cryopreservation remains unknown. This study was conducted in vitro to evaluate the viability of autologous fat grafts harvested with the Coleman technique and subsequently preserved with our preferred cryopreservation method. Eight adult females were enrolled in this study. In each patient, 10 mL of fat grafts were harve...

In the area of cosmetic dermatology, some physicians have been injecting activated platelet-rich plasma into the face to promote cosmesis or using it to enhance fat grafts. However, subtle changes to the federal drug code (21 CFR 1271.1) made in 2004, when applied to activated PRP, purport to make this autologous substance a federally regulated drug requiring an extensive and costly Biologics L...

For patients with extensive burns or donor site scarring, the limited availability of autologous and the inevitable rejection of allogeneic skin drive the need for new alternatives. Existing engineered biologic and synthetic skin analogs serve as temporary coverage until sufficient autologous skin is available. Here we report successful engraftment of a self-assembled bilayered skin construct d...

Using a canine critical-size segmental defect model, a two-phased study was undertaken to evaluate the healing efficacy of demineralized bone and cancellous chips (DBM-CC) enriched with osteoprogenitor cells using a Selective Cell Retention (SCR) technology. The goals of this study were: 1) to determine the bone-healing efficacy of SCR-enriched grafts versus autograft, and 2) to assess the valu...

Corresponding Author: Gianpiero Gravante, MD; e-mail: [email protected] Dear Editor, materials and techniques used for nasal reconstructions have always been a matter of discussion and still no clear guidelines are present. In the beginning, autologous cartilage grafts were extensively used for its low resorption and complication rates1-2. Recently, authors have preferred synthetic material...

Use of biomaterials and light on bone grafts has been widely reported. This work assessed the influence of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) on bone volume (BV) and bone implant contact (BIC) interface around implants inserted in blocks of bovine or autologous bone grafts (autografts), irradiated or not, in rabbit femurs. Twenty-four adult rabbits were divided in 8 groups: AG: autograft; XG: xenog...

Tumor cell contamination of clinical grafts is a major concern in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation because these contaminating cells can contribute to relapse. In the present work, we use a suicide gene therapy approach that successfully accomplishes the two main goals of any purging strategy: highly efficient elimination of contaminating tumor cells and preservation of the en...

The aim of this study was to present the use of retroauricular full-thickness skin grafts in vestibuloplasty surgeries for dental implant rehabilitation in vascularized fibula grafts. Two patients underwent mandibular reconstruction with vascularized fibula grafts due to mandibular gunshot injuries. Inadequate sulcus gaps secondary to mandibular soft tissue deficiencies were managed by full-thi...