What is Skin Reconstruction Surgery?

Skin is the body’s largest organ. From acting as a protective barrier and making new skin to supplying blood, feeling heat and pain, and cushioning muscle and bone, your skin carries out many essential functions. As your body’s external protective system, skin is highly susceptible to infections, rashes, disorders, conditions, cancer, wounds, burns, and other injuries.

Skin reconstruction surgery can help permanently replace missing or damaged skin and provide a covering for open wounds, keeping bacterial and viral infections from entering the body. Skin surgery usually falls into one of two categories.

1. Skin graft surgery: removing healthy skin from one area of the body and transplanting it to the affected area.
2. Skin flap surgery: partially removing healthy skin adjacent to the affected area and using it to cover open wounds.

Skin surgery is often required in the following cases:

• Skin loss due to infection
• Burns
• Cosmetic purposes
• Reconstructive surgeries where there has been skin loss or damage
• Skin cancer surgery
• Surgeries that require skin grafts to heal
• Ulcers (venous, pressure, or diabetic) that do not heal
• Large wounds
• When a surgeon is unable to close a large wound using stitches
  
  

During a skin graft surgery, skin is removed from a donor site such as the buttocks, inner thighs, chest, back, or another area that typically is covered by clothes. Your surgeon will work with you to choose a donor site that you prefer and that is not easily seen.

If the affected area is not deep, your surgeon may graft only the top two layers of skin (the dermis and epidermis.) If, however, your wound involves deep tissue loss, you may require a full-thickness skin graft. This is a more complicated procedure as it involves muscles and blood supply.

The donor skin is then placed over the wound or affected area and may be attached via staples or a few small sutures. The donor site area will be covered with a sterile dressing to facilitate healing. 

Recovering from a skin graft or other skin reconstruction surgery can take time. Depending on the severity of your injuries, you may have two wounds to heal: the affected area and the donor site. Both may require bandage changes and wound care.

Full-thickness skin grafts (removing all layers of skin) will take more time to heal and may require a 1 to 2-week hospital stay. You can typically expect 1 to 2 weeks of wearing a wound dressing, plus 3 to 4 weeks of protecting the grafted area from trauma or friction.

While sensation may return within these first four weeks, it can take months or even years for a full recovery and return of sensation. Your surgical team will provide you with more detailed instructions on post-surgery recovery based on your individual surgical needs.

In most cases, an initial skin graft surgery is successful. However, in some cases, a secondary skin graft may be needed to achieve desired results.

All surgeries come with possible risks and side effects, including skin surgery. Unsuccessful grafts can be caused by:

• Pus or blood pooling under the grafted skin
• Infection
• Problems with blood circulation (more common with people who smoke)
• Damage or injury to the graft site

Additional complications from skin surgery can include:

• Bleeding
• Bruising
• Loss of skin sensation
• Increased sensitivity to pain
• Scar tissue build up around the affected site
• Nerve-related pain

Your surgeon will screen you to determine if you are a good candidate for skin reconstruction surgery. In general, if you have a wound, scarring, burn, or skin that’s damaged or missing from an area of your body, you may be a good candidate. Skin surgeries may be done under general anesthesia, so the right candidate is also someone who can undergo anesthesia.

You may not be a good candidate for a skin graft or skin flap surgery if you are:

• Over the age of 60 or an infant
• A smoker
• In poor health (chronic illness or comorbidities such as diabetes or high blood pressure)
• Taking certain medications (insulin, blood pressure drugs, muscle relaxers)
• Have an active infection
• Have uncontrolled skin cancer

Don’t wait another day to achieve the results you want. Schedule a consultation with the surgical team at the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction and start your skin reconstruction journey today.