Immediate regraft of the remnant skin on the donor site in split-thickness skin grafting

• Published in: Archives of craniofacial surgery Vol. 20; no. 2; pp. 94 - 100
• Main Authors: Park, Young Ji, Ryu, Woo Sang, Kim, Jun Oh, Kwon, Gyu Hyeon, Kim, Jun Sik, Kim, Nam Gyun, Lee, Kyung Suk
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Korea (South) Korean Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association 01.04.2019; 대한두개안면성형외과학회
• Subjects: Original; 성형외과학; Skin neoplasms; Wound healings; Skin transplantation
• ISSN: 2287-1152; 2287-5603
• DOI: 10.7181/acfs.2019.00150

Skin defects of head and neck need reconstruction using various local flaps. In some cases, surgeons should consider skin graft for large skin defect. It is important to heal skin graft and donor sites. The authors investigated wound healing mechanisms at the donor sites with split-thick-ness skin graft (STSG). In this study, the authors compared two types of immediate regraft including sheets and islands for the donor site after facial skin graft using remnant skin. The author reviewed 10 patients who underwent STSG, from March 2015 to May 2017, for skin defects in the craniofacial area. The donor site was immediately covered with the two types using remnant skin after harvesting skin onto the recipient site. Depending on the size of the remnant skin, we conducted regraft with the single sheet (n= 5) and island types (n= 5). On postoperative day 1 and 3 months, the scar formation was evaluated using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) and Vancouver Scar Scale (VSS). Total POSAS and VSS scores for the island type were lower than in single sheet group after 3 months postoperatively. There was significant difference in specific categories of POSAS and VSS. This study showed a reduction in scar formation following immediate regrafting of the remnant skin at the donor site after STSG surgery. Particularly, the island type is useful for clinical application to facilitate healing of donor sites with STSG.