Skin Replacement

Skin transplantation is a radical method of treating deep burns, trophic ulcers and other severe injuries of the skin. This is an operative intervention aimed at removing the severely damaged and transplanting into this area of ​​perfectly healthy skin. The operation uses the patient's own skin or autograft.

How is skin transplantation carried out?

Transplantation of the skin on the face or body is carried out in 3 stages:

1. Grafting.
2. Preparation of a wound bed.
3. Transplantation of healthy skin on the wound surface.

The choice of the place where the transplant will be cut is determined by the nature of the body surface of the patient and the thickness of the skin, as well as the possibility of creating favorable conditions for the rapid healing of the wound after surgery. In most cases, for a skin transplantation with burns and other skin lesions, a graft is taken from the outer or back surface of the buttocks or thighs, back or chest.

Before applying new skin, the granulating surface of the wound is treated with a solution of sodium chloride and dried well. Then a graft is applied on the bed, expanded until the folds disappear. It is held on the wound with the help of skin seams or a special bandage.

After transplanting the skin with hemangiomas and burns, to prevent the accumulation of blood under the transplant, large areas of the skin are incised. Therefore, such an operation is not only very long, but also accompanied by quite a lot of blood loss. Perform it only under general anesthesia and under mandatory protection of blood transfusions.

On the donor area, where the skin was taken, a pressure bandage is applied to stop bleeding (dry).

Rehabilitation after skin transplantation

After the skin has been transplanted (with trophic ulcers, burns, hemangiomas, etc.), it is necessary to prevent the rejection of the transplanted skin. To this end, the patient is assigned glucocorticosteroids . They are applied topically in the form of a solution, which is applied to bandages.

The transplant will survive approximately 6-7 days. If there are no special indications (fever, blotch bandage, severe pain), at this time the first dressing takes place. Finiteness after full engraftment of the graft is left in a gypsum tire (removable) for several weeks. This prevents the wrinkling of the grafts.

Also, surgical methods of treatment are used in long-term rehabilitation. This is necessary to eliminate the scars that form after a skin graft.