Skin Transplant

Skin transplant is a process of transplantation of the skin and sometimes other underlying tissue to another place in the corpse. It is a type of medical grafting. The transplantation is usually performed when the skin gets damaged due to certain injuries. Debridement of the damaged skin is followed by the skin transplantation.
Need
It is mostly used for the treatment of burns, severe wounds or trauma, some surgeries which require the skin grafts for occurrence of the healing and the typical areas of skin infection where the skin loss is possible.
Sources
The grafts from animals are taken. They are aimed at reduction in fluid loss, and avoiding the bacterial infection to the wound. They are not permanent and body rejects them in few days. They are known as heterogonous grafts or xenografts.
For severe damage, the entire skin thickness is necessary. It is usually done for the face or hand for which the contraction of the graft is necessary. The thicker the graft, the less is the deformation and contraction. The cell cultured epithelial auto graft procedures involve the growth of the skin cells from the patient's body into the sheets in the laboratory.
Procedure
Dermatome is the special surgical instrument used for the removal of the thin and neatly preserved skin strips and slices of the donor. The production of split- thickness skin graft containing the epidermis with a little portion of dermis is achieved. The graft is neatly spread on the target area to be covered. With the small stitches, it is fastened there. A swollen paddy patch is covered over the graft with a gentle pressure with a well padded dressing. The plasmatic imbibition process initially nourishes the graft. Here, the plasma is literally drunk by the graft. The growth of the new blood vessels from the recipient graft area starts within 36 hours from the surgery. The process is known as capillary inosculation. The graft is frequently meshed to prevent the accumulation of the fluid under the recipient area. Sometimes, you are kept in the general anesthesia and the skin from other part of your body is taken by a skin cutting instrument. The donor site is in this case is usually hidden under the clothes. The area selection depends on the type and the color of the skin. The raw donor area is covered with dressing to avoid infection for 3-5 days. People who have greater tissue loss may be in need of the thicker skin graft. In such cases, a skin flap with muscles and blood supply is transplanted.
Result
The treatment is aimed at reducing the course of the treatment and improving the functional areas of the body through shin grafting.
Consideration
There is the risk of bleeding and infection. The medicines taken for the prevention of the transplant rejection have to be taken for the rest of the life and may raise the reaction. If the healing process of the wounds is not complete, a rapid recovery is achieved after split thickness skin grafting.
Precautions The blood circulation in the grafted part should be observed carefully. The graft should be protected from the sudden shock and the injuring or stretching exercise for at least 3-4 weeks. As per the location of the graft, the require dressing should be done for 1-2 weeks.