• Afshin Rahmanian-Schwarz, Tabea Knoeller, Manuel Held, Lothar Just, Hans-Eberhard Schaller, and Bernhard Hirt.
• Department of Plastic, Reconstructive, Hand, and Burn Surgery, BG-Trauma Center, Tuebingen, Germany. arahmanian@bgu-tuebingen.de
• Dermatol Surg. 2012 Aug 1; 38 (8): 1338-45.

IntroductionSplit-thickness skin grafting is often associated with poor skin quality. In this context, a new collagen cell carrier (CCC), as an underlayment in split skin graft (SSG) transplantation for covering tissue defects in rats, has been evaluated as an improving agent.MethodsTwenty-eight full-thickness wounds were covered with SSGs, applying the CCC as an underlayment in 14 rats and using SSG transplantation alone in control group. Postgraft skin areas were assessed using an instrument that measures mechanical properties of skin. Three parameters were considered for skin elasticity analysis: total skin deviation (R0), gross elasticity (R2) and viscoelasticity (R8). Measurements were performed every 10 days for 80 days after grafting. Biopsies were taken subsequently for histologic evaluation.ResultsThe results demonstrated significantly superior elasticity values in CCC-supplemented SSGs in terms of gross elasticity and viscoelasticity (R2/R8) starting from day 60 after grafting to the end of the measuring period. There was no histologic evidence of inflammation, adverse host tissue reaction, or scar tissue formation.ConclusionSplit skin grafting is associated with poor dermal quality, but CCC may offer unique opportunities in complex wound management in terms of skin graft quality improvement.© 2012 by the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, Inc. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

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