The effect of split skin allografts on wound epithelialization from autologous patch grafts. An experimental study in...

To compare the healing time of standardized wounds partly covered with autologous patch skin grafts, and wounds totally covered with a combination of allografts and autologous patch grafts 10 rabbits, each with two standardized wounds, were used. On each rabbit one wound was partially transplanted with 6 autologous patch grafts 9 mm in diameter. The patches covered 6% of the wound area. The second wound was covered with a rabbit skin allograft with six holes 7 mm in diameter. In these holes 6 autologous patch grafts, 9 mm in diameter were placed (intermingled transplantation of auto- and allografts). The average healing time for the ten wounds treated with autografts only was 39.8 days and for the wounds covered with auto- and allografts 21.6 days. This shows that the same amount of autologous skin epithelialized a wound area about 17 times larger than itself nearly twice as fast if the wound surface between the autografts was covered with allografts than if it was protected by a dressing only.