THE COMPARISON OF THE SKIN GRAFT DONOR SITE BETWEEN THE TREATMENT WITH REMNANT SKIN AND THE TREATMENT WITH FOAM DRESSING

초록

Background: The standard treatment for a skin graft donor site is a foam or moist dressing, but we hypothesize that regrafting with remnant skin offers greater efficacy and advantages in healing and donor appearance. Method: The skin graft donor sites were assessed by comparing those regrafted with remnant skin and those treated with a foam dressing. Healing time, pain, patient satisfaction, itching sensation, skin stiffness, and irregularity between regrafting and foam dressing are compared. A aesthetic satisfaction evaluation of the donor site was performed by four plastic surgery board certified. Differences were tested statistically. Result: Thirty-nine patients received split thickness skin grafts due to skin defects or soft tissue defects caused by burn, trauma, and cancer reconstruction. Donor site healing time was shorter with the remnant skin regrafting compared to foam dressing. There was no difference on donor site pain between regrafting with remnant skin and foam dressing. Patients satisfied the donor site with remnant skin than a donor site with foam dressing after 2 weeks skin graft. Aesthetic assessment by four plastic surgeons was improved after 12 weeks. Conclusion: The Donor site dressing using remnant skin would improve the wound healing and enhance the aesthetic outcome of the donor site.