ABSTRACT
Skin grafting, using full and split thickness techniques, may yield poor results when
satisfactory circulation is not restored in the recipient bed. Using a rabbit ear
model with a vein located in the center of the graft, donor skin and subcutaneous
vein were raised simultaneously, and the vein was preserved, resulting in a viable
passage for inflow and outflow. Grafts were shown to survive in this experimental
group when circulation was satisfactory after venous preservation. In the control
group with no vein preservation, all grafts became necrotic.
These results were clinically applied for cases in which skin defects, caused by finger
trauma, resulted in poor circulation in the recipient bed. Skin and subcutaneous vein
were simultaneously taken from the forearm and grafted successfully, resulting in
excellent prognoses.
