Auto-grafting

Abstract

An apparatus and method for the production of substitute skin that advantageously reduces the amount of donor dermal cells needed from non-wound areas of a patient having a wound to be auto-grafted is reduced by using all of the harvested skin cells. A 3D printer is used to construct a wound graft product from the harvested skin cells without wasting any of the harvested skin cells. In a case of an irregularly shaped wound, wastage of harvested skin associated with trimming is avoided.

1 - 48 . (canceled) 
     
     
         49 . An auto-grafting method for treating a wound of a patient, comprising:
 harvesting a quantity of skin cells from a patient;   auto-grafting onto the wound of the patient the quantity of harvested skin cells, with the quantity of autografted harvested skin cells being substantially equal to the quantity of harvested skin cells.   
     
     
         50 . The auto-grafting method of  claim 49 , wherein the auto-grafting step comprises auto-grafting a three-dimensional irregularly-shaped skin graft product. 
     
     
         51 . The auto-grafting method of  claim 49 , further comprising constructing, via operation of a three-dimensional printer, a skin graft product comprising the quantity of harvested skin cells. 
     
     
         52 . The method of claim  21 , further comprising printing insulin into the skin graft product being constructed. 
     
     
         53 . The method of claim  21 , further comprising printing or spraying amniotic membrane into the skin graft product being constructed.