A skin graft is a surgical procedure in which a piece of skin is
transplanted from one area to another. Often skin will be taken
from unaffected areas on the injured person and used to cover a
defect, often a burn. If the area of the skin defect is especially
large, the harvested skin may be meshed to stretch it into a larger
patch. If the defect involves a great loss of tissue, a full
thickness graft, a flap of skin with underlying muscle and blood
vessels, may be required. Taking the graft from the injured person
makes rejection of the tissue unlikely.
Review Date: 01/25/2011
Reviewed By: Shabir Bhimji, MD, PhD, Specializing in General Surgery,
Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, Midland, TX. Review provided
by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD,
MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
