Skin grafting is a type of graft surgery involving the transplantation of skin.
The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft.
Skin grafting is often used to treat: Extensive wounding or trauma
Burns Areas of extensive skin loss due to infection
such as necrotizing fasciitis or purpura fulminans Specific surgeries that may require skin grafts
for healing to occur - most commonly removal of skin cancers
Skin grafts are often employed after serious injuries when some of the body's skin is damaged.
Surgical removal of the damaged skin is followed by skin grafting.
The grafting serves two purposes: reduce the course of treatment needed, and improve the
function and appearance of the area of the body which receives the skin graft.
There are two types of skin grafts, the more common type is where a thin layer is removed
from a healthy part of the body like peeling a potato, or a full thickness skin graft,
which involves pitching and cutting skin away from the donor section.
A full thickness skin graft is more risky, in terms of the body accepting the skin, yet
it leaves only a scar line on the donor section, similar to a Cesarean section scar.
For full thickness skin grafts, the donor section will often heal much more quickly
than the injury and is less painful than a partial thickness skin graft.
Medical uses Two layers of skin created from animal sources
has been found to be useful in venous leg ulcers.
Graft taxonomy Autologous: The donor skin is taken from a
different site on the same individual's body.
Isogeneic: The donor and recipient individuals are genetically identical.
Allogeneic: The donor and recipient are of the same species.
Xenogeneic: The donor and recipient are of different species.
Prosthetic: Lost tissue is replaced with synthetic materials such as metal, plastic, or ceramic.
Graft classification Skin grafts can be:
Split-thickness A split-thickness skin graft is a skin graft
including the epidermis and part of the dermis.
Its thickness depends on the donor site and the needs of the patient.
It can be processed through a skin mesher which makes apertures onto the graft, allowing
it to expand up to nine times its size.
Split-thickness grafts are frequently used as they can cover large areas and the rate
of autorejection is low.
The same site can be harvested again after six weeks.
The donor site heals by re-epithelialisation from the dermis and surrounding skin and requires
dressings.
Full-thickness A full-thickness skin graft consists of the
epidermis and the entire thickness of the dermis.
The donor site is either sutured closed directly or covered by a split-thickness skin graft.
Composite graft A composite graft is a small graft containing
skin and underlying cartilage or other tissue.
Donor sites include, for example, ear skin and cartilage to reconstruct nasal alar rim
defects.
Donor selection When grafts are taken from other animals,
they are known as heterografts or xenografts.
By definition, they are temporary biologic dressings which the body will reject within
days to a few weeks.
They are useful in reducing the bacterial concentration of an open wound, as well as
reducing fluid loss.
For more extensive tissue loss, a full-thickness skin graft, which includes the entire thickness
of the skin, may be necessary.
This is often performed for defects of the face and hand where contraction of the graft
should be minimized.
The general rule is that the thicker the graft, the less the contraction and deformity.
Cell cultured epithelial autograft procedures take skin cells from the patient to grow new
skin cells in sheets in a laboratory.
The new sheets are used as grafts, and because the original skin cells came from the patient,
the body does not reject them.
Because these grafts are very thin they do not stand up to trauma, and the "take" is
often less than 100%.
Newer grafting procedures combine CEA with a dermal matrix for more support.
Research is investigating the possibilities of combining CEA and a dermal matrix in one
product.
Experimental procedures are being tested for burn victims using stem cells in solution
which are applied to the burned area using a skin cell gun.
Recent advances have been successful in applying the cells without damage.
In order to remove the thin and well preserved skin slices and strips from the donor, surgeons
use a special surgical instrument called a dermatome.
This usually produces a split-thickness skin graft, which contains the epidermis with only
a portion of the dermis.
The dermis left behind at the donor site contains hair follicles and sebaceous glands, both
of which contain epidermal cells which gradually proliferate out to form a new layer of epidermis.
The donor site may be extremely painful and vulnerable to infection.
The graft is carefully spread on the bare area to be covered.
It is held in place by a few small stitches or surgical staples.
The graft is initially nourished by a process called plasmatic imbibition in which the graft
"drinks plasma".
New blood vessels begin growing from the recipient area into the transplanted skin within 36
hours in a process called capillary inosculation.
To prevent the accumulation of fluid under the graft which can prevent its attachment
and revascularization, the graft is frequently meshed by making lengthwise rows of short,
interrupted cuts, each a few millimeters long, with each row offset by half a cut length
like bricks in a wall.
In addition to allowing for drainage, this allows the graft to both stretch and cover
a larger area as well as to more closely approximate the contours of the recipient area.
However, it results in a rather pebbled appearance upon healing that may ultimately look less
aesthetically pleasing.
An increasingly common aid to both pre-operative wound maintenance and post-operative graft
healing is the use of negative pressure wound therapy.
This system works by placing a section of foam cut to size over the wound, then laying
a perforated tube onto the foam.
The arrangement is then secured with bandages.
A vacuum unit then creates negative pressure, sealing the edges of the wound to the foam,
and drawing out excess blood and fluids.
This process typically helps to maintain cleanliness in the graft site, promotes the development
of new blood vessels, and increases the chances of the graft successfully taking.
NPWT can also be used between debridement and graft operations to assist an infected
wound in remaining clean for a period of time before new skin is applied.
Skin grafting can also be seen as a skin transplant Risks
Risks for the skin graft surgery are: Bleeding
Infection Loss of grafted skin
Nerve damage Graft-versus-host disease
Rejection may occur in xenografts.
To prevent this, the patient usually must be treated with long-term immunosuppressant
drugs.
Prognosis Most skin grafts are successful, but in some
cases they do not heal well and require repeat grafting.
The graft should also be monitored for good circulation.
Recovery time from skin grafting can be long.
Patients should wear compression garments for several months and should be monitored
for depression and anxiety endemic to long-term pain and loss of function.
References
External links Skin graft.
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia.
Parts of this US Federal Government public domain text were used in the article.
An introduction to the use of vacuum assisted closure.