Initial general management and surgery of six extensively burned children treated with cultured epidermal autografts
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 23, 2026
A Swine Burn Model for Investigating the Healing Process in Multiple Depth Burn Wounds
Published on: February 23, 2024
M Chalumeau1, J P Saulnier, P Ainaud
1Burn Center, Percy Military Hospital, France.
Purpose:
The aim of this study was to document the surgical and intensive care methods used in six extensively burned children (EBC), ie, total body surface area (TBSA) burned over 70% or TBSA with deep burns over 60%, treated with cultured epidermal autografts (CEA).
Methods:
Six EBC, with a mean age of 7.5 years (range, 2.5 to 12) received CEA. Their mean TBSA burned was 82% (range, 70-94) with 74% (range, 60-90) of TBSA with deep burns. All sustained flame burns and inhalation injuries.
Results:
The survival rate was six of six. The average initial and final engraftment rates of CEA were, respectively, 79% (range, 70 to 95) and 84% (range, 72 to 100). CEA definitively covered 45% (range, 18 to 57) of TBSA for a mean cost per child of $80,000 (range, 55,000 to 110,000).
Conclusion:
Even if CEA are expensive, such engraftment rates and survival ratio results make them an excellent alternative wound covering method for EBC when donor sites for widely meshed autografts are exhausted.
Related Concept Videos
01:22Burn Injuries
The damage results in the death of skin cells, which can lead to a massive loss of fluid. Dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and renal and circulatory failure follow, which can be fatal. Burn patients are treated with intravenous fluids to offset...
01:19Clinical Applications of Epidermal Stem Cells