The Indications for and Limitation of Skin Grafting with or without Negative Pressure Wound Therapy and / or basic Fibroblast Growth Factor

Abstract

Skin grafting is one of several surgical procedures that are useful for closing wounds. Twenty years ago, skin grafting over bones and tendons was not possible, as the blood supply was usually insufficient to allow the graft to take. However, in 1997 negative pressure wound therapy ( NPWT ), a non-invasive wound treatment system, was first reported. In addition, the mass production of cell growth factors, basic fibroblast growth factor ( bFGF ), and similar products became feasible around 1980, and the use of such substances has since become commonplace. Both NPWT and bFGF trigger the formation of granulation tissue and thereby enable skin graft preparation. Our findings indicate that the combined use of NPWT and bFGF increases the skin graft survival rate, as does the use of NPWT for skin graft fixation.