Grafting of autologous and allogenic cultured epithelium after excision of tattoos

Summary

Two patients with large tattoos were treated with autologous (auto) and cryopreserved allogeneic (allo) cultured epithelium (CE) grafts. These patients were followed up for 2${\raise0.5ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 1$}\kern-0.1em/\kern-0.15em\lower0.25ex\hbox{$\scriptstyle 2$}}$ years. The tattooed areas were excised, and the wounds were covered symmetrically with auto and cryopreserved allo CE grafts. The wound healing of the grated sites, appearance and texture were similar. In patient 1, the grafted sites with both CE resembled adjacent normal skin. In patient 2, there was minimal scar formation in both sites. In conclusion, the excised tattoo wounds could be successfully treated using both types of grafts.