A new method of microskin mincing.

Abstract

Microskin grafting has been used successfully for major burns when donor skin areas are inadequate to cover the skin defect. The microskin may be made by repeated cutting with scissors or by a specially designed machine. However microskin grafting is still not popular due to the difficulty of the mincing process, which may take hours to do. An easy and quick method of skin mincing using the Tanner-Vandeput Mesh Dermatome has been developed. The mincing process may be done in just a few minutes instead of hours. The skin pieces made with this technique are all of a uniform square shape and size (1.2 mm x 1.2 mm). Microskin grafting using the mincing technique has been carried out on 10 thighs of five patients with a fixed patch size (1.2 mm x 1.2 mm); an expansion ratio of 1:10 is used to ensure that the average interpatch distance would be within 5 mm for a better and quicker healing. All areas healed within 6 weeks without any secondary skin grafting. The resulting 'cobblestone' appearance of the healed skin is not good looking but there is no excess scar formation. The scar is soft and can be pinched up easily. This is an easy way of microskin mincing, it is quick and can be done in any clinic without specially trained personnel or the need to buy a new instrument.