Abdominoplasty Panniculus as a Source for Human Acellular Dermis: A Preliminary Report

In extensive deep dermal burn injuries, split-thickness skin graft (STSG) has been the most preferred treatment option for resurfacing burn wounds. A thick split-thickness skin graft is ideal for preventing graft contracture but is associated with delayed donor healing and the lack of adequate donor skin. When applied with STSG, the dermal substitutes offer better-reconstructed skin than STSG alone. Human-derived acellular dermal matrix (HADM) obtained from cadaver skin is a dermal equivalent with good clinical outcomes. However, high cost and limited cadaver donor skin availability limit its clinical utility. Developing a low-cost preparation method and finding an alternate source of human donated skin can help reduce the cost. The objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of making HADM from abdominoplasty panniculus skin.

Skin samples were collected from the abdominoplasty panniculus of ten eligible donors with their informed consent. A combination of low-cost reagents-sodium chloride and hypotonic solution (water for injection) was used for decellularizing the skin. Characterization of the prepared Acellular Dermis Matrix prototype was done.

The skin was deepidermized with one molar NaCl treatment at 37 °C for 24 h. The deepidermized dermis became acellular with hypotonic solution treatment at 4 °C for two weeks. The hematoxylin and eosin staining and cytotoxicity test confirmed the acellularity and non-cytotoxicity of the prepared HADM prototype. The HADM prototype also facilitated the formation of neo-epithelium in the 3D cell co-culture model.

This study confirms that abdominoplasty panniculus can be a viable alternative for HADM preparation. Further characterization studies are required to prove the concept.