Objective To investigate the cl inical effect of vacuum seal ing drainage (VSD) on late-stage large skin avulsion injury with infection. Methods From May 2007 to August 2008, 9 patients with large-area skin avulsion injury and infection were treated. There were 1 male and 8 females aged 9-52 years old (median 27 years old). All patients suffered from closed skin avulsion injury involving the lower back, buttock, and part of the thigh. The injury area varied from 30 cm × 25 cm to92 cm × 38 cm. The time between injury and hospital admission was 15-23 days. The skin avulsion injury was compl icated with pelvis fracture, urethral injury, anal injury, sacrum exposure, and l imb fractures. The interval between hospital admission and operation was 3-23 hours. Free spl it-thickness skin graft was performed after the focus debridement and three VSD treatments (40-60 kPa). Results After three VSD treatments, no patient had general pyemia and severe local tissue necrosis or infection, the tissue edema in the skin avulsion area was alleviated obviously, and all the wound cavities were closed. All the wounds in the graft site healed after 28-45 days of treatment (average 39 days), and all the donor sites healed. Nine patients were followed up for 4-14 months (average 10 months). The appearance of the reparative area was good, and there was no occurrence of joint dysfunction in the injured area due to scar contracture. Conclusion VSD is effective in treating late-stage large skin avulsion injury with infection.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of subcutaneous tissue trimming on the survival skin area of avulsion skin flap. METHODS: Degloving injury was created in bilateral hind limbs of 7 pigs with avulsion injury machine, 4 cm x 10 cm avulsion skin flaps were elevated in degloving areas. Skin flaps in one side were replanted as control without any treatment. Subcutaneous tissue in the skin flaps of another side was partially excised and replanted by trimmed skin flaps. Survival skin flaps was calculated with computer at 7 days after operation. RESULTS: In the control group, the survival skin area was (40.41 +/- 9.23)%, while in the experimental group, the survival skin area was (60.90 +/- 15.26)%. There was significant difference between the two groups (P lt; 0.05). CONCLUSION: Trimming off subcutaneous tissue does improve the survival area of avulsion skin flap.
The defatted whole thickness skin flap from the large sized avulsed skin was sutured back to the original wound of the extremity in 366 cases. The patients were followed up for an average of 12 years and 3 months. The functions of the extremities were good, and the surface of the grafted area was smooth, with good luster and good looking. This type of repair provided a high survival rate, simple and less traumatic. The avulsed skin even had abrasion or mild contusion could still be used. The peculiarities of the large sized skin avulsion and the advantages and disadvantages of other reparative methods were discussed.