Burns : journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries
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Cicero Parker Meek (1914-1979) was working as a general practitioner at the Aiken County Hospital in South Carolina, USA, and had a special interest in the treatment of burn patients. The procedure first presented in 1958 by Meek for a device-based expansion of split-skin (micrografting), which was invented before the mesh technique, is a milestone in the history of burns surgery. The method was forgotten until well into the 90s of the last century, and was only readopted and improved by no longer identifiable physicians at the Red Cross Hospital in Beverwijk. ⋯ Kreis and Raff showed in 1994 that 1:9 expanded mesh grafts did not achieve a true 1:9 expansion on the wound surface, in contrast to 1:9 expanded Meek grafts. Thus Meek grafts provided a highly effective autograft expansion in very large burns. Cicero Parker Meek was an exceptional person in the history of burn therapy.
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Growth arrested 3T3 cells have been used as feeder cells in human epidermal keratinocyte cultures to produce cultured epidermal autografts for the treatment of burns. The feeder cells were ideally growth-arrested by gamma-irradiation. Alternatively, growth arrest by mitomycin C treatment is a cost effective option. ⋯ The BrdU labeling study indicated significant stimulation of the overall keratinocyte proliferation by the gamma irradiated feeders. The cultured epidermal sheets produced by gamma feeders were relatively thicker than those produced by mitomycin C feeders. We discussed the clinical utility of mitomycin C feeders from the viewpoint of cost-effective burn care in developing countries.