Burn Injury Resource Center
Skin graft is the process by which a non healing wound or a burn wound is covered by a piece of skin taken either from the patient himself/herself or from cadavers or animls. this procedure is done surgically. Skin graft is either used a temporary wound cover or a permanent one. Some wounds such as third degree burns if left to heal on their own can lead to scarring and contractions.
As the skin is the largest organ in the body and among its functions is playing a major role in protecting the body from fluid loss and help in preventing harmful micro organisims such as bacteria and varuses from entering the body and causing infections therefore its important to cover third degree burns with skin graft as soon as possiblee as uncovered third degree burns are more liable for wound infections and fluid loss from the burn area .
Skin graft is a surgical procedure that is not used for wounds that can heal on itself such as first and second degree burns, it’s used for large and non healing wounds. The skin used for grafting can be taken from another area of the patient body if there is enough undamaged healthy skin available and if the general condition of the patient permit to undergo an additional surgery. This type of graft is call autograft. Another type of skin graft is called Autograft where the skin is obtained from another person who is usually a donor cadaver in which the skin is frozen and stored to be available for use. The last last type of skin graft is called Xenograft where the skin is obtained from an animal which is usually a pig. Autograft can be used as a perminant covering to the damaged area while Allograft and Xenografts are temporary ones as they will be rejected by the immune system of the patient after a short period of time and need to be replaced by Autograft.