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Updated: Nov 29, 2025
Tissue Characterization after a New Disaggregation Method for Skin Micro-Grafts Generation
Published on: March 4, 2016
Scarring at Donor Sites after Split-Thickness Skin Graft: A Prospective, Longitudinal, Randomized Trial
Matilda Karlsson1, Moustafa Elmasry, Ingrid Steinvall
1In the Departments of Hand Surgery, Plastic Surgery and Burns, Linköping University, Sweden, Matilda Karlsson, BSN, RN, is Registered Nurse; Moustafa Elmasry, MD, PhD, is Consultant Plastic Surgeon; Ingrid Steinvall, PhD, RN, is Research Nurse; Folke Sjöberg, MD, PhD, is Director; and Pia Olofsson, MD, PhD, is Head of Department and Consultant Plastic Surgeon. Acknowledgments: The authors thank statistician Mats Fredriksson, occupational therapist Caroline Andersson, and the rest of the staff in their department. The authors have disclosed no financial relationships related to this article. Submitted October 2, 2019; accepted in revised form December 10, 2019.
Objective:
To investigate if previous findings on the association between dressing treatments and subjective opinion on final donor site scar outcome using the Patient and Observer Scar Assessment Scale (POSAS) can be confirmed objectively. The previous study showed that patients dressed with hydrofiber covered with film were more satisfied with their donor site scars than patients receiving porcine xenograft or polyurethane foam dressings.
Methods:
Scar outcome measurements were assessed by a blinded observer using POSAS and the Cutometer dual MPA 580 device to measure the viscoelasticity of skin.
Results:
A total of 17 participants were included in this study, five of whom were treated with hydrofiber, six with polyurethane foam, and another six with porcine xenograft. There were no significant differences among groups in any of the POSAS items or in the viscoelasticity measurements made with the Cutometer.
Conclusions:
The investigators could not confirm previous associations between dressing treatment and long-term donor site scars. No associations between donor sites' healing times and final scarring were found. Hypopigmentation was reported in 15 of 17 donor sites evaluated.
