A review of skin meshers.
Before the widespread clinical acceptance of mesh skin grafting, expansion of full thickness skin had already been reported. The senior authors, who performed the first mesh skingrafts, have tried several variations of instruments starting with a flat block, later using a roller device with staggered cuts (Mesh Dermatome type I), and further a roller with continuous cuts and a grooved carrier (Mesh Dermatome II). Now interchangeable rollers for different expansions (Zimmer Skin Mesher) and several other genuine meshers are available. Other innovations from the literature are mentioned. This article gives a classification and details of the different models. The basic principles are reviewed. A general formula is presented, allowing objective comparison of skin meshers.