A skin graft is sheet of skin harvested from a donor site; it may include the epidermis and part of the dermis (split thickness skin graft) or both the epidermis and dermis (full thickness graft) to cover skin lost due to surgery or trauma. Dressings are used to cover the donor site or the grafted skin; this is done to enhance healing, improve patients’ comfort and reduce the pain. Skin dressings can be broadly classified into medicated and non-medicated dressings. Medicated dressings include hydrocolloid dressings, hydrogel dressings. alginate dressings, fibrous absorbent dressings, dressings that contribute to odour management, antimicrobial dressings, and Manuka Honey dressings. The non-medicated dressings include vapour permeable dressings, foam dressings, low adherent dressings, non-adherent wound contact layers, atraumatic absorbent dressings, post-operative dressings, and hydrocapillary dressings. Dressing change may be a traumatic experience for patients and can tax healthcare resources. Pain and discomfort of patients while the dressing is in place and during dressing change may be related to the characteristics of the wound dressing used. Furthermore, dressing type may affect the incidence of wound infection which would affect the frequency of dressing change and the overall success of the skin graft procedure.
The purpose of this review is to evaluate the evidence regarding the optimal dressing type, protocol of dressing change, and clinical practice guidelines for the use of dressings at skin graft sites.
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