Topic Two: Skin Grafting
With some burn injuries skin grafting may be necessary to repair defects caused by the injury.
There are three types of skin grafting:
Split-Thickness Grafts
Consists of the epidermis and a small portion of the dermis
Full-thickness grafts
Consisting of the epidermis and all of the dermis
Composite grafts
Consisting of the epidermis, dermis and underlying tissues (such as muscle, cartilage and bone) (Vuolo, 2009; NHS UK. 2022).
Dressing selection will follow the same guidance as other wound types, assessment, clinical appearance and exudate levels. However, the duration of use between the dressing changes may vary until the exudate levels have stabilised after the first few days. Pain and trauma-free removal is a prerequisite to good burn management.
The overall goals of burn management are to facilitate healing physically and emotionally, to minimise the risk of infection and for the patient to return to normal activities of daily living. (International Best Practice Guidelines, 2014).