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Skin grafting is a medical procedure in which skin is harvested from a donor portion of the patient’s body in very thin layers in which to graft this skin to the area in question. The patient may require a skin graft if they have had a burn, major infection or even an extensive wound. Before the skin graft can occur, an excision has to be performed which is the removing of the damaged skin. This removal of skin can be very deep and may sometimes leave only a couple layers of skin for which to bond the skin graft to.

The main goals for a skin graft, is not for the skin to look perfect after performing one, but they are used as a means of helping to speed up the recovery period associated with that particular injury. While the skin graft in many cases will help the appearance of the trauma site after the injury, it is not its sole intention.

Skin grafting comes in 3 forms. The first type of a skin graft is one that comes from your own body. In this type of skin graft the surgeon will slice a very thin layer of skin from a donor site to bond to the trauma area. The second type of skin graft can come from a lab. These lab grown skin grafts are often used as an alternative only when a suitable donor site cannot be found. The third type of skin graft comes from the skin of other animals and is often referred to as a xenograft or heterologous grafts. These are temporary skin grafts. In general the body will reject the grafts within only a few days which is all the time that they needed as the xenograft is only used as a means of preventing bacterial concentration in an open wound.

While in general, a skin graft is done in very thin layers, sometime the use of a full-thickness graft may be necessary. A full thickness skin graft is just that, the full thickness of the skin. This generally features a smaller chance of any deformities occurring during the recovery period. In most cases, a burn victim will receive thin grafts on the body, but full thickness grafts on the face.