Surgery, gynecology & obstetrics
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Both clinically and experimentally, full thickness skin grafts inhibit wound contraction better than do split thickness grafts. This occurs even if full thickness grafts are thinner than split grafts. Since inhibition of wound contraction does not depend on graft thickness alone, other differences should be sought between full and split grafts to explain this inhibition. ⋯ Histologic examination showed that all split skin grafts, regardless of surface preparation, had considerable epidermal hyperplasia and scarring in graft dermis and bed between one and four weeks. Thus, both skin graft contraction and epidermal hyperplasia occur independently of how grafts are prepared. The explantation of why full and split thickness grafts inhibit wound contraction differently must lie intrinsic rather than extrinsic to the skin.