Useful adjuncts to harvest split-thickness skin grafts.
BACKGROUND
Split-thickness skin grafts are useful for repair of defects that are not amenable to primary closure or secondary intention healing. Because of the thinness of split-thickness skin grafts, damage to the graft and curling are common with standard harvesting techniques. Adjunctive methods for harvesting split-thickness skin grafts have not been well elucidated in the literature.


METHODS
Lubrication and a tongue depressor facilitate even harvesting of the split-thickness skin graft. A semipermeable membrane is applied to the split-thickness skin graft donor site before harvesting the skin graft. This aids with harvesting and minimizes trauma to the graft.


CONCLUSIONS
Use of lubrication, a tongue depressor, and a semipermeable membrane are useful adjuncts to harvesting split-thickness skin grafts.
Sams
Hunter H
HH
Vanderbilt University Department of Medicine (Dermatology), Nashville, Tennessee, USA.
McDonald
Michel A
MA
Stasko
Thomas
T
D006801:Humans; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D014945:Wound Healing