title: Healing at skin graft donor sites dressed with chitosan.
abstract: Chitosan is a derivative of chitin, extracted from the exoskeleton of lobsters, crabs and shrimps. As a semi-permeable biological dressing, it maintains a sterile wound exudate beneath a dry scab, preventing dehydration and contamination of the wound to optimise conditions for healing. In this study, evaluation of healing at split skin graft donor sites, dressed half with chitosan and half with a conventional dressing, showed that chitosan facilitated rapid wound re-epithelialisation and the regeneration of nerves within a vascular dermis. In addition, digital colour separation analysis of donor site scars demonstrated an earlier return to normal skin colour at chitosan-treated areas.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital, Exeter, UK.
authors.forename: C A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Stone
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Clarke
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Powell
authors.forename: V S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Devaraj
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000890:Anti-Infective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001672:Biocompatible Materials / Q000494:pharmacology; D001684:Biological Dressings; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002686:Chitin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000494:pharmacology*; D048271:Chitosan; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D012880:Skin Pigmentation / Q000187:drug effects; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013997:Time Factors; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D000890:Anti-Infective Agents; D001672:Biocompatible Materials; D002686:Chitin; D048271:Chitosan