Banking and use of glycerol preserved full-thickness skin allograft harvested from body contouring procedures.
BACKGROUND
The use of glycerol preserved skin allograft (GPA) became a main stay in burn treatment. However, harvesting of cadaveric skin is not yet legalized in many countries including Egypt.


OBJECTIVE
To estimate the feasibility of using skin harvested from body contouring procedures as a source of GPA and its clinical efficacy.


METHODS
Skin harvested from body contouring procedures done in Al-Azhar university hospitals was preserved by glycerolization and used in management of burn and complicated wounds.


RESULTS
In the period between February 2012 and February 2013 skin was harvested from 24 abdomenoplasty cases, 6 bilateral breast reduction cases, and 1 case of thigh lift done in Al-Azhar university hospitals. This yielded about 22,000 cm(2) of skin preserved by glycerolization. This GPA was used in 15 excised burn wounds, in 9 cases of chronic burn wounds, and in 6 complicated wounds. Partial graft loss occurred in 3 cases and total graft loss occurred in 1 case.


CONCLUSIONS
The glycerolized full-thickness skin harvested from body contouring procedures is clinically effective in burn and wound management. In the presence of regional coordination, it can serve as an abundant source for skin banking in where cadaveric skin use is not legalized.
Department of Plastic Surgery and Burn, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Almokhayyam Aldaem Street, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt. Electronic address: prs.zidan@gmail.com.
Serag M
SM
Zidan
Department of Plastic Surgery and Burn, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Almokhayyam Aldaem Street, Nasr City, Cairo, Egypt.
Samy A
SA
Eleowa
D061645:Abdominoplasty / Q000379:methods; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D064591:Allografts; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D004534:Egypt; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005990:Glycerol; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016462:Mammaplasty / Q000379:methods; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D012867:Skin; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D014015:Tissue Banks; D014021:Tissue Preservation / Q000379:methods*; D020858:Tissue and Organ Harvesting / Q000379:methods*; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000601:surgery*; D055815:Young Adult
D003451:Cryoprotective Agents; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D005990:Glycerol
Biological dressings; Burn; Glycerolization; Skin allograft; Skin banking