title: The survival of human skin stored by refrigeration at 4 degrees C in McCoy's 5A medium: does oxygenation of the medium improve storage time?
abstract: To establish the viable storage time of human skin stored by refrigeration at 4 degrees C in McCoy's 5A medium and to establish whether oxygenating the medium improves the viable storage time, the following experiment was conducted. Eighty discs of human split-thickness skin graft, each 3 mm in diameter, were stored in 40 sterile sealable containers under four different conditions: in 0.9% saline, in McCoy's 5A medium, in oxygenated McCoy's 5A medium, and in carbon dioxide supplemented McCoy's 5A medium. Skin graft viability was assessed using tissue culture. Skin stored in saline was viable for only 1 week, whereas skin stored in McCoy's 5A medium and in oxygenated McCoy's 5A medium was viable for 4 weeks. Skin stored in carbon dioxide supplemented McCoy's 5A solution did not even survive the first week. These findings show that McCoy's 5A medium allows at least 4 weeks of viable human skin storage by refrigeration at 4 degrees C. Furthermore, oxygenating the medium does not seem to improve the viable storage time, and carbon dioxide supplementation is detrimental. The advantages of skin storage by refrigeration and the implications of the above findings are discussed. A clinical case in which split-thickness skin was stored for approximately 5 weeks and still resulted in good graft take is quoted as an example of our experience with the use of McCoy's 5A medium.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Shotley Bridge Hospital, Durham, England, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: DeBono
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: R B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Berry
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000596:Amino Acids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003080:Cold Temperature; D003470:Culture Media; D046508:Culture Techniques; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000601:surgery; D006085:Graft Survival; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009336:Necrosis; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D010100:Oxygen / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010406:Penicillins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012034:Refrigeration; D012086:Reoperation; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000502:physiology*; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D013997:Time Factors; D014021:Tissue Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D014022:Tissue Survival; D014815:Vitamins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014946:Wound Infection / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D003470:Culture Media; C113109:McCoy's 5A medium; D008903:Minerals; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D010406:Penicillins; D014815:Vitamins; D002245:Carbon Dioxide; D012965:Sodium Chloride; D010100:Oxygen