Autografting of feeder-cell free cultured gingival epithelium. Method and clinical application.

In oral and maxillofacial surgery an adequate mucosa/gingiva transplant is often not available in the amount required. Use of cultured gingival keratinocytes is a possibility in overcoming this problem. Keratinocytes were cultured in primary culture from gingival biopsies without xenogenous feeder-cells. The cells grew out of explants and formed, within 4 to 6 weeks, a sheet of keratinocytes up to size of 75 cm2. We have a success rate of 65% in cultures of people older than 40 years. This and the culture without feeder-cells encouraged us to use the cultured gingival cells as an autologous transplant in pre-prosthetic surgery for anterior vestibuloplasty.