-Review-

Useful Tips for Successful Skin Grafting

Rei Ogawa, Hiko Hyakusoku and Shimpei Ono

Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Regenerative Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Nippon Medical School

Skin grafting is a common operative method widely used in the field of plastic, reconstructive, and aesthetic surgery. However, we offer five suggestions to reduce complications and surgical invasiveness. Our tips are as follows. (1) Skin grafts should be harvested on the basis of a swimsuit with high-cut leg openings. (2) A drum dermatome is still useful when a split-thickness skin graft is needed after a full-thickness graft has been harvested. (3) A flower holder is useful for making drainage holes. (4) A tie-over dressing using external wire-frame fixation is recommended. (5) Povidone-iodine gel is recommended with a tie-over dressing. These procedures have been found to be extremely helpful for ensuring the success of skin-grafting procedures.

J Nippon Med Sch 2007; 74: 386-392

Keywords
burn reconstruction, skin graft, tie-over, wire-frame fixation, Kenzan skin graft

Correspondence to
Rei Ogawa, MD, PhD, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nippon Medical School, 1-1-5 Sendagi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8603, Japan
r.ogawa@nms.ac.jp

Received, July 5, 2007
Accepted, August 3, 2007