FPRS skin grafts

Question 1

What are the benefits of a full-thickness skin graft

over a split-thickness skin graft?

Answer 1

● Better color and texture match
● Less scar contraction
● No need for additional equipment (dermatome) for
harvest
● Easier donor-site wound care and less contour irregularity

Question 2

What are the most common head and neck donor
sites for full-thickness skin grafts used in facial
reconstruction?

Answer 2

Upper eyelid, preauricular or postauricular, supraclavicular,
melolabial fold, and forehead

Question 3

How do full-thickness skin grafts survive initially during the first 24 to 48 hours?

Answer 3

Plasma imbibition: the diffusion of nutrition from the fluid at the recipient site, after which capillary inosculation takes place at 48 hours

Question 4

What are the primary causes of skin graft failure?

Answer 4

Infection, shearing, fluid accumulation between the graft and recipient bed

Question 5

What is the function of a bolster dressing over a skin graft?

Answer 5

It ensures maximal graft to recipient bed contact and

decreases shearing forces that might affect graft survival.