Skin Graft Donor Site Healing among Elderly Patients with Dermatoporosis - A Case Series.

Abstract

We reviewed donor site wound healing among morbid ≥65-year-old patients after split-thickness skin graft (STSG) harvesting. Patients were treated for a pretibial laceration or hematoma in Kymenlaakso Central Hospital, Finland, between 2015 and 2019. Twelve morbid patients with a mean Charlson Comorbidity Index of 7.1 (range 4-12) and a mean age of 80.6 years (range 69-91) were studied. Nine patients were female. Eight had a chronic cutaneous fragility syndrome, eg, dermatoporosis. All donor site areas were located on the thigh and were less than 2% TBSA. One donor site infection occurred. STSG integration on the pretibial wound bed was successful with all patients, and none of the patients needed further operative treatment. Graft thickness varied between 0.010 to 0.014 inches. STSG donor sites healed within the normal range of 21 days in 50% of patients. Among two patients, healing took 25 days, and among four, 37 to 97 days. All donor sites healed via local wound care without the need for regrafting. 4Our study indicates that harvesting STSG from elderly and morbid patients with poor skin condition is safe and does not result in significant complications. Prolonged donor site healing can occur, which can be managed with regular local wound care.