Medial Side of the Foot as a Skin Graft Donor Site for Correction of Burn Scar Contracture of the Hand

Journal of the Korean Society for Surgery of the Hand 2005;10(3):136-141.
Published online September 1, 2005.

Daegu Son, Sungchul Park, Hyunji Kim

손화상 반흔구축 교정수술에서 피부제공부위로 발 안쪽 피부의 활용

손대구, 박성철, 김현지

Abstract

Purpose
The raw surface of a burn scar contracture on a hand is generally resurfaced with full-thickness skin from the groin or split-thickness skin from the buttocks or thighs. However, the grafted skin may darken from hyperpigmentation. In this study, the medial side of the foot was used as a donor site, and skin color comparison between the grafted skin and surrounding skin were done using a chromameter. Materials and Methods: A total of 52 patients were recruited for this study. All skin was harvested from medial side of the foot. Split-thickness was grafted in 16 patients, full- thickness in 31 patients, and preserved superficial fat skin in 5 patients. Skin color difference was measured in 22 patients. Results: Of 31 cases in which long-term follow-up was carried out, four developed recontracture and reoperated with split-thickness skin graft. Color difference between recipient and normal skin was within the normal range (E value 8.2), indicating a favorable match with surrounding tissue. Conclusions: Using skin from medial side of foot was color-matched without hyperpigmentation.