title: Clinical practice of glycerol preserved allograft skin coverage.
abstract: This retrospective study examines the use and advantages/disadvantages of glycerol preserved human allograft skin in our burn care facility between February 1997 and December 1999. Three hundred and twenty patients were included into the study, 85 of whom were treated with human cadaver skin. The usage of allograft slightly increased the number of operative procedures per percent of the total body surface area burn. There were no adverse effects noted from the use of allograft. The group of patients with allograft use had a significantly larger burn size, ABSI score and length of ICU stay. Demographically the groups were comparable. The considerably easier handling and storage of glycerol preserved allograft skin make it preferable to cryopreserved allograft skin in all indications where it is used as a temporary wound closure. We recommend the usage of cryopreserved skin in cases where the integration of a dermal component as a permanent part of wound closure is desired.
authors.affiliation: Clinic for Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Burn Center, University of Heidelberg, BG Unfallklinik Ludwigshafen, Ludwig Guttmannstrasse 13, 67071 Ludwigshafen, Germany.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blome-Eberwein
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jester
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuentscher
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Raff
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Germann
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pelzer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002056:Burns / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D015925:Cryopreservation; D005260:Female; D005990:Glycerol; D006801:Humans; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014021:Tissue Preservation / Q000379:methods*
chemical_list: D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D005990:Glycerol