title: Preputial skin can be used in all boys with burns requiring grafting.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In patients with extensive burns, all unburned areas can be used as donor sites. In male patients with small burns, preputial skin graft may be a good choice in order to avoid donor site problems.
  
  
  METHODS
  We retrospectively reviewed 12 patients treated in our burn center from January 1997 to August 2007 with preputial skin grafting.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In three patients, preputial skin was the only graft source. In nine patients, other donor sites were also used for split-thickness graft harvesting. In two patients, preputial skin graft was used for periareolar grafting where hyperpigmented healing was preferred. In the rest of the patients, preputial skin graft was used on various parts of the body. Overall success rate for preputial skin graft was 100%. There was no early donor site morbidity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Preputial skin is a full-thickness, highly elastic and easy-to-harvest graft that should be considered in all burned male children in whom grafting is needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: Ahmet Bülent
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Doğrul
authors.forename: Ozgür
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aytaç
authors.forename: Yusuf Alper
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Kiliç
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Konan
authors.forename: Kaya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yorganci
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002944:Circumcision, Male; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010413:Penis / Q000601:surgery; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology*