Suction Blister Model of Wound Healing

The suction blister model was originally developed for the separation of viable epidermis from dermis by Kiistala (1 ). Since its development, its use has been expanded and applied to several other applications. One new application assesses the collagen synthesis rate in the human skin in vivo by using the suction blister fluid collected in an assay of collagen propeptides (2 ). This method is sensitive and can detect changes in collagen synthesis owing to various diseases and topical or systemic therapies. Other applications of the suction blister technique include measurements of pharmacological agents or their derivatives from interstitial fluid, and assays of various enzymes, cytokines, and so on (3 -7 ). Additionally, the suction blister technique has even been used to treat vitiligo by collecting living melanocytes from blister roofs from healthy skin and injecting these into blister cavities induced in diseased skin.