Enhanced survival of full-thickness skin grafts following the application of DC electrical fields

The present study was undertaken to determine if uses of exogenous electrical fields could improve the posttraumatic quality of dermis and epidermis in isolated grafts in the rat. In blinded procedures, a full-thickness area of skin was removed and reattached to the original site. A galvanic device delivering 4.5 microA of direct current was applied using three electrode orientations: (1) anode above graft (AT; N = 8), (2) cathode above graft (CT; N = 7), and (3) no current (NC; N = 7). Current delivery was discontinued 4 days postoperatively. Quantitative assessment at 7 days postoperatively indicated the presence of necrotic skin over 80 to 90 percent of the graft surface area in NC and CT animals. In contrast, only 50 percent of the graft area was necrotic in AT rats. Histologic examinations indicated a significantly thickened dermis in the AT (versus NC and CT) rats, accompanied by patches of multilayered intact epidermis, which was virtually absent from the other experimental groups. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that direct-current stimulation can affect skin graft survival and repair.