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Skin Grafting for Venous Skin Ulcer

Topic Overview

Skin grafting can be an effective treatment for a large, difficult-to-heal venous skin ulcer. A skin graft stimulates healing by triggering skin cell growth in the wound site. Various types of tissue are used for skin grafting, including:

  • A dressing derived from one's own skin cells, called an autograft, placed on the wound. Other types of autograft (called split- or partial-thickness skin grafts) graft skin from one part of the body to another.
  • A bioengineered human skin equivalent, or allograft.
  • Preserved animal skin, often from a pig, called a xerograft.

If you have a long-standing venous skin ulcer, discuss skin grafting with your doctor. Depending on your condition, you may be a candidate for this type of treatment. But there are no guarantees that skin grafting will work for you.

Related Information

References

Other Works Consulted

  • Habif TP (2010). Stasis dermatitis and venous ulceration: Postphlebitic syndromes section of Eczema and hand dermatitis. In Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy, 5th ed., pp. 122–129. Edinburgh: Mosby Elsevier.

Credits

By Healthwise Staff
Primary Medical Reviewer E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine
Specialist Medical Reviewer Margaret Doucette, DO - Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wound Care, Hyperbaric Medicine
Last Revised August 31, 2011

Last Revised: August 31, 2011

Author: Healthwise Staff

Medical Review: E. Gregory Thompson, MD - Internal Medicine & Margaret Doucette, DO - Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Wound Care, Hyperbaric Medicine

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