Skin graft including subcutaneous vein: experimental study and clinical applications

Skin grafting, using full and split thickness techniques, may yield poor results when satisfactory circulation is not restored in the recipient bed. Using a rabbit ear model with a vein located in the center of the graft, donor skin and subcutaneous vein were raised simultaneously, and the vein was preserved, resulting in a viable passage for inflow and outflow. Grafts were shown to survive in this experimental group when circulation was satisfactory after venous preservation. In the control group with no vein preservation, all grafts became necrotic. These results were clinically applied for cases in which skin defects, caused by finger trauma, resulted in poor circulation in the recipient bed. Skin and subcutaneous vein were simultaneously taken from the forearm and grafted successfully, resulting in excellent prognoses.