Use of epidermal grafts in wounds: a review of an automated epidermal harvesting system

Chronic wounds continue to present a significant challenge to health-care providers across the globe. Unlike acute wounds, chronic wounds do not proceed through an orderly process of repair. In recent years, a number of wound healing treatments, such as dermal replacement scaffolds and negative pressure wound therapy, have promoted wound healing by stimulating the formation of granulation tissue. However, until recently there were few modalities designed to promote epithelialisation of a fully granulated wound. Split-thickness skin grafts (STSGs) have long been the gold standard for the management of acute wounds, but have not gained favour in the treatment of chronic wounds for several reasons: discomfort associated with the donor site, the creation of a second wound (donor site) in a patient with poor wound-healing potential, and a lack of documented efficacy for the procedure. Epidermal grafting does not have some of the limitations encountered with STSG; however, it has not gained wide acceptance, as ...