Bolstering Split-Thickness Skin Grafting With Autologous Skin Cell Suspension
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Adding autologous skin cell suspension (ASCS) to split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) can help achieve “robust wound closure,” according to a poster to be presented this week at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall.1
The authors note that while STSGs can effectively close lower extremity wounds, the grafts require a large donor site, which may expose patients with comorbidities that impair wound healing to significant risks.1 Adding ASCS can help wound healing by using minimal donor skin, according to the poster.
Authors conducted a retrospective review of 21 patients with complex lower extremity wounds—including diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and ischemic wounds—who were treated with STSG and ASCS.1 Surgeons used a 1–2 cm2 donor site to prepare ASCS and sprayed that over the meshed graft.
Patients’ mean wound size was 121.5 cm2 with an average chronicity of 284 days, noted the authors.1 All 21 wounds achieved complete closure in a mean time of 38.7 days.
“STSG/ASCS provided superior wound closure rate, above and beyond traditional STSG,” notes poster lead author Kazu Suzuki, DPM. “In our case series, we achieved rapid and robust wound closure with STSG/ASCS treatment, up to 95% wound closure rate in 5 weeks.”
Dr. Suzuki notes the case series results compare favorably against previous STSG case series for lower extremity wounds.2,3 He says there is no downside to performing ASCS along with STSG, as the procedure requires only a small piece of donor skin in addition to regular STSG, noting that the ASCS skin processing may add 12 minutes of processing time to the procedure.
References
1. Suzuki K, Carrillo-Kashani A, Morshedian A. Robust closure of complex lower extremity wounds with the use of split-thickness skin grafting and autologous skin cell suspension: a case series. Presented at the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care (SAWC) Fall, Las Vegas, NV, Sept. 4–7, 2025.
2. Reddy S, El-Haddawi F, Fancourt M, et al. The incidence and risk factors for lower limb skin graft failure. Dermatol Res Pract. 2014;2014:582080. doi:10.1155/2014/582080
3. Falanga V, Sabolinski M. A bilayered living skin construct (APLIGRAF) accelerates complete closure of hard-to-heal venous ulcers. Wound Repair Regen. 1999;7(4):201-207. doi:10.1046/j.1524-475x.1999.00201.x
