A skin graft is a piece of skin transplanted from a healthy area of skin to a damaged area. Depending on the degree of injury and the specific procedure used, recovery from a skin grafting may take days to weeks. While Medline Plus maintains that most skin grafting procedures are successful, the risk of rejection remains a possibility.
Purpose
Skin grafts are used to replace skin that has been damaged by major wounds, burns, skin cancer, infections or surgery. Small skin grafts may be used in cosmetic procedures. A skin graft may be indicated whenever the injury causes the skin to no longer be functional.
Types
During a split-thickness skin graft procedure, a piece of skin consisting of two layers, the epidermis and dermis, is removed from a healthy skin patch, often from the buttocks or inner thigh. For more severe injuries, such as burns, a full-thickness skin graft is used. For this procedure, the patch of donor skin consists of all of the skin layers, including underlying muscle and blood vessels supplying the skin with blood. Skin grafts may also be taken from animals or other people.
Procedure
During a skin graft procedure, the doctor places the patient under general or local anesthesia, depending on the size and degree of the wound. The physician cleans the area where the new skin will be transplanted. The donor graft is then removed from the donor site and placed on the injured site. It may be stapled or stitched into place, or the doctor may simply cover the area with padding. The doctor then places a sterile dressing on the wound and leaves it to heal for three to five days.
Risks
Risks associated with a skin graft procedure include bleeding, scarring, infection and pain. In some cases, the skin graft does not take and the patch of skin falls off or dies. In cases where the donor graft was from someone else, this may be due to the recipient's immune system rejecting the donor material. As with any surgical procedure, there are also risks involved with going under general anesthesia, including breathing difficulties or an allergic reaction to the medication used.
Recovery
After a split-thickness skin grafting, a patient usually can remove the dressing after one to two weeks and must take care not to bump or stretch the area for up to four weeks after the surgery, explains Medline Plus. Patients undergoing a full-thickness skin graft can expect a week or two in the hospital post procedure and a few weeks of recovery time after being released.
