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Hi I had a graft done on 25th may , to an open wound on my shin , yesterday I was informed only 20% of graft had taken , and that we would have to monitor . What will the outcome be ? Will natural healing happen and how long could this take ? I have already been off work 4 weeks . Please help Regards harriet
Optional Information: Person's Gender: Female Person's Age: 46
Thank you for your question. The take of a skin graft depends on a number of factors - reason for the graft, type of wound, location and depth of the wound, medical condition of the patient, elevation of the grafted area after surgery, infection and care of the grafted area are the main factors. When a graft only takes 20%, then more healing needs to obviously take place to get complete healing. Another skin graft is a possibility. If there is no infection and there is healing tissue (granulation tissue) present, sometimes healing can occur but this may take awhile. It is important to know what type of open wound you had prior to grafting and the depth and size of the open wound. What kind of treatment are you having now? The dressing needs to be changed frequently and the area needs to be kept clean. Hopefully natural healing can occur but I can be more specific when I receive your response regarding the questions that I asked.
Hi the wound was a deep 10 inch flesh wound , v deep . I landed on a pole , the graft covered a small area about 2 inches round . It was a split graft ? Granulation has occurred . I did have an infection in wound but anti biotics cleared that up . The wound is cleaned and dressed twice a week . I really need to know how long realistically healing could take , I know it' will be based on averages . I'm currently being told to elevate more and rest .
If there is granulation tissue present, the wound may heal on its own but the dressing needs to be changed more than 2 times per week. The area should have saline dressing changes 2 times per day to make sure the area does not get infected again. If there is no healing (the wound should get smaller),in 7-10 days, you may need another graft. If the wound is getting smaller each week, it should heal within 4-6 weeks. You may also need another round of antibiotics. I really could not answer your question without the new information you gave.
Experience: 30 years experience; Board Certified in Plastic Surgery; Member American College of Surgeons;