• 대한두개안면성형외과학회지
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• 제24권4호
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• pp.198-201
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• 2023

Maintaining the patency of the external auditory canal (EAC) during reconstruction is important because of its physiological role in hearing and immunological protective functions. The curved shape of the EAC presents a challenge when performing a skin graft. One of the key points for a successful skin graft is to ensure compression on the wound bed, and many novel methods, including prefabricated ear molds, have been reported for this purpose. In this study, we present a case of a skin graft performed to reconstruct a skin defect following excision of actinic keratosis in the EAC, using the cover of an ear thermometer probe as a mold for the graft to match the curvature of the EAC. This is an economical and practical method for secure compression dressing of a skin graft in the EAC.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.64-69
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• 2007

Purpose: The key of treatment in syndactyly is to separate the fused digits safely, and to create a normal web space with enough cutaneous coverage. Despite many techniques have described the correction of syndactyly, skin graft still remains the annoying one. We designed the pentagonal flap from hand dorsum to reconstruct the web space reliably and try to minimize the need for skin graft. Methods: Between July 2003 and August 2005, six cases of syndactyly were corrected at UCLA Medical Center and Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital using dorsal pentagonal flap for web space reconstruction and straight incisions for the sides of digits to minimize the need for skin graft. The proximal edge of the pentagonal flap was designed in V shape to allow for easy closure of the donor site after advancement. The pentagonal flap was advanced volarly with the underlying dermofat tissues to form a digital web. In some cases, skin defects were unavoidable and covered with full thickness skin graft from the inguinal area. Results: Syndactyly were seen in 4 cases of Apert syndrome, 1 postburn scar webbing with PIP joint contracture and 1 recurrence after the incomplete reconstruction. In all Apert syndrome, straight line incision was used along the sides of the fingers and skin graft was needed. But, in 2 cases of incomplete type, we could save the need for skin graft only for the correction of syndactyly. We could get a good looking web space without any complications such as flap or graft loss. Conclusion: As a modification of Sherif's V-Y dorsal metacarpal flap, we believe pentagonal flap could be one of the easiest and safest way to reconstruct the web space of syndactyly in functional and cosmetic standpoint.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제34권5호
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• pp.587-592
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• 2007

Purpose: In case of postburn flexion contracture of the fingers, skin graft, geometrical relaxation techniques, local flap, and free flap have been used. Among these procedures, full-thickness skin grafts from the inguinal area are widely used to reconstruct a postburn flexion contracture in the fingers. But there are many esthetic and functional problems in this procedure. Especially, hyperpigmentation of the skin-grafted fingers poses a troublesome problem, particularly in the patients who have dark colored skin. To solve the problem, we have used pulp graft which was harvested from the lateral aspect of great toe. In the present study, we report pulp graft, with which we have obtained a good result in the treatment of postburn flexion contracture of the fingers. Methods: Between September of 2004 and August of 2006, great toe pulp graft was performed to 20 sites of 15 patients. After release of the postburn flexion contracture using Z-plasty, the composite tissue (pulp) harvested from the lateral aspect of great toe was grafted on the raw surface. Moisture dressing with ointment and foam dressing material was performed. Stratum corneum of the graft got stripped off in two to four weeks after pulp graft. The color of the pulp graft was slightly reddish, then it became similar to the adjacent tissue. Results: There was complete take in all the patients who were treated with pulp graft. Great toe pulp graft provided similar color and texture to the adjacent skin, high rate of graft take, and left only a minimal scar at donor site. Conclusion: Thick keratin layer and inelastic nature of the pulp make this type of the graft much easier and simpler, and ensure a better take. Pulp graft is useful method for the reconstruction of the postburn flexion contracture in fingers.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제42권3호
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• pp.341-345
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• 2015

Background A tie-over dressing is the accepted method to secure skin grafts in order to prevent haematoma or seroma formation. We describe the novel application of a barbed suture tie-over for skin graft dressing. The barbs act as anchors in the skin so constant tensioning of the suture is not required. Methods From January 2014 to August 2014 we used the technique in 30 patients with skin defects requiring split-thickness or full-thickness grafts. Patient demographics, clinicopathological details and graft outcome were collected prospectively. Results The majority of cases were carried out for split-thickness skin grafts (n=19) used on the lower limb (n=20). The results of this novel technique were excellent with complete (100%) graft take in all patients. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the clinical application of a barbed device for securing skin grafts with excellent results. We find the technique quick to perform and the barbed device easy to handle, which can be applied without the need for an assistant.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제49권1호
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• pp.86-90
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• 2022

Performing a skin graft is not feasible for tendon-exposed defect reconstruction because tendons are fibrous connective tissues with relatively poor blood supply. This study proposes a method to effectively perform skin graft surgery in tendon-exposed wounds. A 48-year-old male patient with diabetes mellitus had a very large left dorsal foot defect (8×8 cm). The wound bed had healthy granular tissue, with tendon exposure. The tendons were turned over so that the posterior side would behave as the anterior side. The edge of the paratenon was then fixed together to the surrounding granulation tissue or dense remnant fascia using absorbable sutures, and the close granulation tissue was approximated and buried. A split-thickness skin graft was performed after 1 week. The graft site was stably taken on postoperative day 3. A small disruption was then observed at the graft site within 1 week postoperatively, but conservative treatment was continued for 1 month, after which the defect site was completely restored. This technique can increase the success rate of skin grafts for defects with tendon exposure.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제34권1호
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• pp.70-76
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• 2007

Purpose: Full-thickness skin grafts are usually used in facial reconstruction, but on occasion, split-thickness skin graft is also used from the scalp due to the limitation of donor site. However, there were complications, such as alopecia, folliculitis and blood loss. In addition, it can not be used in patients with baldness. Under the circumstances, we used medial arm skin as split-thickness skin graft donor site in lieu of scalp. We investigated the efficacy of the medial arm skin as a donor site of facial skin graft in comparison with scalp. Methods: From 2000 to 2005, the split-thicknesss skin grafts were performed using the medial arm skin in 10 patients and the scalp in 10 patients. We inspected the skin color match, texture match by the visual analogue scale. Scar contracture was estimated by the Visitrak $grade^{(R)}$(Smith & Nephew). The statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 12.0. Results: There was a more satisfaction in color match, texture, and scar contracture in medial arm skin than in scalp. Conclusion: According to these results, medial arm skin may be used efficiently as an alternative donor site of scalp in the facial reconstruction.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제35권1호
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• pp.36-41
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• 2008

Purpose: For facial reconstruction, skin color match is crucial to achieve great aesthetic result. Forehead flap and full thickness skin graft have been used for many years to reconstruct facial defect. Their results are aesthetically valuable with remarkable resemblance and harmony of the skin color between donor and recipient sites. The purpose of this study is to evaluate and compare the aesthetic outcome of the two methods as the analysis of skin color match. Methods: From January 1995 to December 2005, ten forehead flaps and ten full thickness skin grafts were performed. The reconstructed areas of forehead flaps were five noses and five eyelids. Recipient sites of full thickness skin grafts were seven eyelids, two noses and one forehead. In order to obtain the objective validity, the skin color of flap(or graft) and the recipient sites were measured by chromameter. The skin colors were quantified according to a three-dimensional coordinate system used in chromameter, L*(brightness), a*(redness), and b*(yellowness).Results: There was no significant color difference between forehead flap site and adjacent skin in all color values. On the other hand, the L* and b* values of graft sites were significantly lower than those of the adjacent skins. The a* values of graft sites were higher than those of the adjacent skins. Conclusion: This study reveals that skin color match of forehead flap is greater than that of full thickness skin graft. As forehead flap has adequate volume and great color match, it can be useful to reconstruct deep facial defect such as nasal defect. On the other hand, full thickness skin graft can be used for superficial defect like partial eyelid defect.

• Maxillofacial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
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• 제29권3호
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• pp.227-232
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• 2007

The radial forearm fasciocutaneous flap(RFFF) is a well-known flap for the reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects. It was first described by Yang et al. in 1981 and Soutar et al. developed it for the reconstruction of intraoral defect. RFFF provides a reliable, thin, and pliable soft tissue/skin paddle that is amenable to sensate reconstruction. It also has a long vascular pedicle that can be anastomosed to any vessel in either the ipsilateral or contralateral neck. However, split thickness skin graft(STSG) is most commonly used to cover the donor site, and a variety of donor site complications have been reported, including delayed healing, swelling of the hand, persistent wrist stiffness, reduced hand strength, and partial loss of the graft with exposure of the forearm flexor tendon. Various methods for donor site repair in addition to STSG have been developed and practiced to minimize both functional and esthetic morbidity, such as direct closure, V-Y closure, full thickness skin graft, tissue expansion, acellular dermal graft. We got a good result of using artificial dermis($Terudermis^{(R)}$) and secondary STSG for the repair of RFFF donor site defect esthetically and report with a review of literature.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제32권5호
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• pp.607-612
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• 2005

A traditional tie-over dressing may be applied to support the take of a skin graft. Although there are many advantage of this method, it has significant disadvantages, including time-consuming application. Furthermore, when the dressing is changed, the gauze becomes hard and can be stuck to the graft, causing damage and pain upon removal. The purpose of our study is to evaluate the effect of semi-occlusive dressing using polyurethane foam and film dressing($Allevyn^{(R)}$, $Opsite^{(R)}$) after full thickness skin graft. The authors treated 45 cases including burn scar contracture(n=38), syndactyly (n=1), absence of nipple-areolar complex(n=4), traumatic skin defect(n=1) and contact burn(n=1) with authors' method and 39 patients including burn scar contracture (n=39) with the tie-over dressing between 2000 and 2004. The patients in polyurethane foam and film dressing group ranged from 1 to 62 years of age (mean age, 15.1 years) and the patients in tie-over dressing group ranged from 2 to 60 years of age(mean age, 21.3 years). The postoperative results were analyzed according to the following measures: (1) the duration of graft-taking, (2) the admission period, (3) complications. Compared with the traditional tie-over dressing, polyurethane foam and film dressing was shown to be more successful in a reduced duration of graft-taking, in which was similar to the former in the rate of graft-taking, a reduced admission period and patient's discomfort. We concluded that semi-occlusive dressing using $Allevyn^{(R)}$ and $Opsite^{(R)}$ was an effective method after full thickness skin graft, which was easy to shape to difficult body locations, such as web spaces, fingers and maintains a moist environment for wound healing and does not stick to the wound.

• Archives of Plastic Surgery
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• 제51권1호
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• pp.102-109
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• 2024

Background Skin defects in the hands are common injuries, and autologous skin grafting is the ideal treatment. However, complications can occur at the donor and recipient sites. This study compares the "Swing-door" technique with conventional skin grafting. Methods From August 2019 to February 2023, 19 patients with skin defects of hand underwent the "Swing-door" split-thickness skin graft (STSG) technique. The thin epithelial layer was elevated with proximal part attached. Skin graft was harvested beneath. Donor site was then closed with epithelial flap like a "Swing-door". The outcomes were evaluated in terms of healing time, scar formation, and pain at the donor and recipient sites. The data were compared with the conventional STSG. Results The "Swing-door" group had lower graft take percentages, but complications did not significantly differ between the two groups. The "Swing-door" technique resulted in better cosmetic outcomes, as evidenced by lower Vancouver Scar Scale scores, faster donor site epithelialization, and reduced pain and discomfort during the early postoperative period, as measured by Visual Analog Scale. Conclusion The "Swing-door" STSG is a useful alternative for treating hand skin defects.