title: Patient experiences living with split thickness skin grafts.
abstract: The standard of care for deep burns is autologous split thickness skin grafting. Although adequate to resurface a deep wound, the resulting skin is chronically abnormal. The purpose of this study was to describe the experience of patients with split thickness skin grafts to help guide future investigations related to skin regeneration. In this study, an interpretive description qualitative methodology was employed. Subjects participated in a two-part single patient interview that was recorded and transcribed. A nurse with experience in clinical burn care coded and interpreted the data. Participants were recruited through presentation to a university based outpatient burn clinic for follow up from autologous split thickness skin grafting. Eight male patients and four female patients 20-62 years old ranging 2-29 months post-skin grafting were enrolled in the study. The most significant concerns voiced by patients were identified and organized into five themes: (1) a new normal, (2) split thickness skin graft symptoms, (3) appearance of new skin, (4) coping, and (5) participation in future clinical trials. Participants reported that the abnormalities related to their split thickness skin grafts were significant enough that they would be willing to participate in a future clinical trial investigating new cell-based therapies.
authors.affiliation: Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre, Canada.
authors.forename: L N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Burnett
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada; Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Carr
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tapp
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Raffin Bouchal
authors.affiliation: Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Centre, Canada.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Horch
authors.affiliation: Department of Comparative Biology and Experimental Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Canada; Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Canada; Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Biernaskie
authors.affiliation: Division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Departments of Clinical Neurosciences, Pediatrics and Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Canada. Electronic address: Vincent.gabriel@ucalgary.ca.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gabriel
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002056:Burns / Q000523:psychology / Q000601:surgery*; D004954:Esthetics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D036301:Qualitative Research; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology; D014945:Wound Healing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Nursing; Psychosocial; Qualitative; Scar; Skin grafting