Stretching skin to the limit: a novel technique for split skin graft expansion.
The premise underlying the meshed split skin graft that fragments of skin less than 1 mm wide are not viable is challenged, and a method is described for chopping split skin into fragments as small as 40 microns square. These tiny particles are viable and have been used to graft granulating wounds, achieving up to twenty-fold expansion without a decrease in the healing rate.
Nanchahal
J
J
Department of Anatomy, Charing Cross and Westminister Medical School, London.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D006097:Granulation Tissue / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008722:Methods; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D014647:Varicose Ulcer / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*