It is a surgical procedure which involves the placement of a piece of healthy skin in areas where the skin is damaged. It is usually done in an operating room under local or general anesthesia depending on the size of the graft.
Skin grafts can be classified into:
- Autografts: where the skin for the graft is taken from the same person.
- Allograft: where the skin for the graft is taken from another person.
- Xenograft: where the skin for the graft is taken from animals (usually pigs).
- The area where the healthy skin is taken from is called the donor site.
- The donor site can be any area of the body; it is usually in areas hidden by clothes like the inner thigh.
- The area which receives the healthy skin is called the recipient site (the graft site).
For the recipient site (graft site) the dressing is left in place for two to five days before it is changed. The area is very fragile and great care should be taken to ensure that it is protected from trauma and heavy stretching for two to three weeks.
Complications:
- Infection.
- Bleeding.
- Graft failure.
- Graft rejection.
- Scarring.
- Skin discoloration.
- Chronic pain.
- Change in the sensitivity of skin.
It is important to take care of the graft area by protecting it from excessive sun exposure, protect it from dryness (use ointment or creams after consulting with your doctor).
This information is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice; it should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. Call 911 for all medical emergencies.
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