Amniotic membrane: A skin graft fixator convenient for both patient and surgeon

摘要

The revascularisation of a skin graft depends on immobilisation of the graft on the wound bed. In cases in which circular dressings are needed, the graft may be displaced under the dressing, leading to partial graft loss . For this reason several methods of graft fixation have been described. A common technique is to use stitches , but this is time consuming and the stitches need to be removed after graft takes. Placing surgical drapes over the graft is another method , but these must be removed on the second or third day when the grafts are still not well vascularised, and this can lead to failure of the graft. For these reasons fixation with skin staples was introduced as a fast and reliable method for graft fixation ; however, it is expensive and also stressful for the patient as the staples must be removed, a procedure which is very painful and also frightening, particularly for children. Another technique uses Steri-s trips~R microporous tapes for fixation , but the surrounding skin must be completely healthy to retain the tapes. Other methods applying different materials such as honey or cyanoacrylate have been designed.