Question

Adam needs a skin graft. What are the tissues and their functions that he needs to graft?

Answer 1

Types of tissues needed for skin graft:

1.    Split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) : these are the epidermis and a superficial part of the dermis; usually done for large wounds
2.    Full-thickness skin grafts (FTSG) : it consists of the full epidermis and dermis used in case of small avascular areas
3.    Composite grafts : made up of skin and another type of tissue, which is normally cartilage; used when donor site has lost muscle/bone

Functions of these tissues needed for skin graft

1. Healthy vascular supply for the survival of the tissue

2. Donor must match recipient skin graft immunologically

3. Thickness, color and texture should match

4. The region of skin graft must be free of cancerous and precancerous lesions