title: Delayed skin grafting in facial reconstruction. When to use and how to do.
abstract: To assess the effectiveness of delayed skin grafting for the reconstruction of facial defects following Mohs excision of cutaneous malignant neoplasms, an analysis was done on 40 patients. All grafts in this series survived. Satisfactory results were obtained in 95% of the patients. Complications were minor and uncommon. Results of this study demonstrate indications for the use of delayed skin grafting to include recurrent or aggressive primary lesions and defects that are large, deep, and favorably located. Advantages of delayed skin grafting are as follows: improved recipient bed vascularity providing high survival of a thicker graft; provision of additional tissue bulk; reduced length of time for healing; less contracture than with granulation healing; and elimination of additional scarring adjacent to the defect. In properly selected patients, this technique offers an additional method of reconstruction of facial defects.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005145:Face / Q000601:surgery*; D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008545:Melanoma / Q000601:surgery; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000601:surgery; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000379:methods*; D013997:Time Factors; D014973:Xanthomatosis / Q000601:surgery