Medical grafting
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Skin grafting is a type of medical grafting involving the transplantation of skin. The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft.
Skin grafting is often used to treat:
- Extensive wounding or trauma
- Burns
- Areas of prior infection with extensive skin loss
- Specific surgeries that may require skin grafts for healing to occur
Skin grafts are often employed after serious injuries when some of the body's skin is damaged. Surgical removal (excision or debridement) of the damaged skin is followed by skin grafting. The grafting serves two purposes: it can reduce the course of treatment needed (and time in the hospital), and it can improve the function and appearance of the area of the body which receives the skin graft. There are two types of skin grafts, the more common type is where a thin layer is removed from a healthy part of the (body the donor section) like peeling a potato, (see donor section) or a full thickness skin graft, which involves pitching and cutting skin away from the donor section. A full thickness skin graft is more risky, in terms of the body accepting the skin, yet it leaves only a scar line on the donor section, similar to a Cesarean section scar. For full thickness skin grafts, the donor section will often heal a lot quicker then injury. and not only heals quicker but is less painful then a partial thickness skin graft.
Graft taxonomy
- Autologous: The donor and recipient are the same (also known as an autograft).
- Isogeneic: The donor and recipient are genetically identical (e.g., monozygotic twins, animals of a single inbred strain; isograft or syngraft).
- Allogeneic: The donor and recipient are of the same species (human→human, dog→dog; allograft).
- Xenogeneic: The donor and recipient are of different species (e.g., bovine cartilage; xenograft or heterograft).
- Prosthetic: Lost tissue is replaced with synthetic materials such as metal, plastic, or ceramic (prosthetic implants).
