Autologous fibroblast preparation
SEPARATION
Preoperatively, each patient from the autologous fibroblast group had tissue collected from the postauricular area. An injection of 2% lidocaine was given, and a 3-mm punch biopsy was performed. The donor site was closed with a single nylon (5.0) suture. The collected tissue was sterilized with povidone-iodine, and the fibroblasts were extracted with debris removal. Separation of epidermis from dermis was done using dispase in fibroblast basal medium at 2–4 °C for 1–4 h. Then, the dermis was cut into small pieces and digested in trypsin at 37 °C for 15 min to isolate dermal fibroblasts. Subsequently, the cells were cultured in fibroblast basal medium with 2% fibroblast growth medium, 1% penicillin (100 units/ml) and streptomycin (100 µg/ml) at 37 °C in a humidified air of 5% CO