Corianne Rogers, MD
As a plastic surgeon, I have become more and more aware that my years of training have allowed me the knowledge to tap into the body’s amazing healing abilities. With the aid of scientists, we are further able to improve upon those results. Over the past decade, one of the exciting advancements in reconstructive surgery has been the emergence of autologous cell therapies, which I believe have unlocked another level to what can be achieved in the reconstructive purview. This technology can help to jumpstart a patient’s healing and has helped advance the field in a very meaningful way.
Reconstructive surgery has always been about more than just closing wounds. The goal is to restore both form and function in order to create durable coverage that protects, while also achieving results that look and feel as natural as possible. I aim to deliver a result that has both durable function and aesthetics that restore confidence and identity. In large reconstructions, I often find myself melding the use of flaps and skin grafts (or other regenerative matrices). The use of autologous skin cell suspension with this has surprised me regarding some of the aesthetic outcomes that can be achieved in large skin grafts or in areas where flaps and grafts interface. At times, I have seen areas of widely meshed graft that look nearly seamless or blending of flaps and grafts that is aesthetically ideal.
At times, I have seen areas of widely meshed graft that look nearly seamless or blending of flaps and grafts that is aesthetically ideal.
The benefits of these therapies do not eliminate the need for flaps or grafts; I do believe they change how we use them and what can be achieved. A flap that once stood out as bulky or mismatched can now integrate more smoothly when cell therapies are applied to surrounding tissues. Skin grafts that risked pigmentation irregularities can demonstrate more natural blending when autologous cells are reintroduced. Even donor sites, which are often painful and prone to scarring, can benefit from more rapid and cosmetically favorable healing with cell-based approaches. Having seen some of the evolution and expansion of indications within the past decade, I believe there will be further adaptations and wider acceptance moving forward.
Currently, cell therapies in the reconstructive space focus on re-epithelialization. Looking ahead, I believe the capability for cell therapies to spread to dermal regeneration. There are many xenograft options available for dermal substitution, but they are not always successful, and they often lack the elasticity and resilience of native skin. If autologous cell therapy could be harnessed to regenerate dermis in a predictable way, this would be nothing short of revolutionary. Imagine a future where we can restore not just epidermis, but also dermal appendages such as sweat glands and hair follicles. This would improve both aesthetics and function, reduce contracture rates, restore natural elasticity, and decreasing the risk of unstable scarring. For patients, this would mean reconstructions that move and feel more like their original skin.
And while this may sound ambitious, history suggests that today’s impossibilities often become tomorrow’s standard. Flap surgery itself was once considered radical; now it is routine. I believe autologous cell therapies will follow a similar trajectory.
The ultimate vision for regenerative medicine is to go beyond skin and soft tissue. I believe that we may one day reach the final frontier in regenerative medicine of being able to regenerate entire organs, such that allogenic transplantation would not be required in all circumstances. I don’t believe we will see this in our lifetime necessarily, but with continued advancement, I believe it may happen.
Reconstructive surgery will always require technical expertise in grafts, flaps, and microsurgery. But autologous cell therapies represent a new dimension—one that does not replace these tools, but rather transforms them. By amplifying the body’s own biology, they allow us to move closer to outcomes that are not just life- or limb-saving, but virtually indistinguishable from what nature originally provided.
Looking for more like this? Read Enhance Traumatic Wound Management with a Two-Stage Dermal Matrix and Autologous Skin Cell Therapy Approach.
About the author
Cori Rogers, MD, is a board-certified plastic surgeon with fellowship training in hand surgery. She practices at WakeMed Health & Hospitals in her hometown of Raleigh, NC. Her practice is a mixture of general plastic & reconstructive surgery including trauma, burn, chronic wounds, and oncologic reconstruction with focuses in lower extremity salvage and hand surgery.
She launched her academic career at Appalachian State University in Boone NC, graduated with her bachelors and then went to medical school at University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis, TN. She completed her residency in integrated plastic surgery, at Indiana University College of Medicine in Indianapolis, IN. She completed hand and upper extremity fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham-Andrews Sports Medicine Institute in Birmingham, AL.
Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and gardening.
The views and experiences described above are the author’s own and may or may not reflect those of AVITA Medical.
