We report a head and neck full-thickness burn injury that was reconstructed with a tissue-engineered dermal template and then early implantation of microdissected hair follicles through the silicone epidermis 12 days after the burn injury. The treatment resulted in complete reepithelialization and a hair-bearing scalp without the need for a split-thickness skin graft. Restoration of the stem cell population, hair growth, and earlier reepithelialization were achieved using this novel micrografting technique, and histologic examination confirmed maturation of a normal skin type over the subsequent 2 years.
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