Tissue-engineered dermal skin grafting in the treatment of ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica.

Necrobiosis lipoidica is a well recognized but comparatively rare cutaneous complication of diabetes mellitus. The aetiology is probably multifactorial with microangiopathy, immune complex formation, abnormal collagen synthesis and breakdown, and altered haemostasis all thought to play a part. Necrobiosis lipoidica often proves very resistant to treatment. We report a case of a 44-year-old woman with ulcerated necrobiosis lipoidica that healed following grafting with a tissue-engineered living dermal tissue.