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Abstract

Preserved skin grafts can either be used in staged reconstructive procedures as autografts or for temporary coverage of wounds as allografts. Although several nutrient media and techniques have been developed for storage, the conventional method of preservation is wrapping the graft in a normal saline soaked sterile gauze and refrigerating this material in a sterile container at +4o C. As normal saline contains only certain electrolytes and nothing more, it is far from physiological. For that reason, saline stored skin grafts lose some of their viability in a short period of time and become edematous. In this study we have compared viability of skin grafts stored using autologous platelet rich plasma with that of grafts stored using normal saline alone.

Keywords : Preservative; Medium; Storage; Skin Graft.

Corresponding Author : Ravi Kumar Chittoria, Professor & Head of IT Wing and Telemedicine, Department of Plastic Surgery, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Pondicherry 605006, India.