Abstract
Although precise mechanistic differences are poorly understood in the survival
of STSGs and FTSGs (13,14), STSGs are considered to be effective for the treatment
of chronic lower extremity ulcerations because their thinner nature requires less vascular supply (15-17). Skouge (18) has discussed the indications for STSGs in detail.
They can cover large skin defects that cannot be repaired by a local flap or would heal
too slowly by secondary intention. When the recipient sites are still too large to be
covered with autologous STSGs, mesh grafting (19,20) or patch grafting (21) techniques are conventionally used to expand the graft skin. Instead of autologous STSGs,
cultured autografts, cultured allografts, allogeneic cadaver skin grafts, or xenografts
are also alternatives to treat patients with wounds of large surface area, which generally lack adequate donor tissue for autografts. Although FTSGs are also useful
to cover surgical defects in areas at high risk for tumor recurrence as compared with
flaps, STSGs are more ideal than FTSGs for detecting recurrent tumors through the
grafted skin. The main disadvantages of STSGs over FTSGs are: (a) less optimal cosmetic appearance, (b) the presence of a donor site wound requiring postoperative
care, (c) greater contraction when grafted on a deep wound down to fascia, and
(d) requirement of the special instrument and equipment to harvest large donor skin.
4. MECHANISM OF TAKE