The scalp or how to reduce the scarring associated with the harvesting of a split-thickness skin graft in head and neck surgery

Abstract

Skin grafts are commonly used in head and neck recon-struction surgery. Muscle flap coverage [1] or closure ofa flap harvesting site [2] (e.g., antebrachial radial flap)may require split-thickness autograft. Harvesting, however,involves considerable postoperative pain, and healing islong, often leaving an unsightly or pathological scar outsideof the head-and-neck region [3].Reducing the scars left by reconstruction surgery shouldbe a constant concern. It helps improve patients’ quality oflife. In this perspective, we here present a harvesting tech-nique for split-thickness skin graft from the scalp in headand neck surgery.The scalp is routinely used as a split-thickness skin graftdonor region in burn surgery [4]. It avoids leaving an extrascar, which is completely hidden and invisible once the hairgrows back.