Tissue Engineering for Reconstruction of the Thumb

For nearly two decades, surgeons have used cultured autologous cells for reconstructive surgery. The most notable successful application involved the removal of a specimen of skin from a badly burned patient, expansion of the keratinocytes in vitro, and subsequent application of the cultured epidermal autografts onto the burn wounds to resurface the skin. 1 A recent report in the Journal described successful reconstruction of an occluded pulmonary artery in a young girl with a tissue-engineered vessel graft. 2 Advances in cellular biology and biomaterials science have been brought together in a new discipline called “tissue engineering,” which has its own research centers, . . .