Banking and use of glycerol preserved full-thickness skin allograft harvested from body contouring procedures

IntroductionThe use of glycerol preserved skin allograft (GPA) became a main stay in burn treatment. However, harvesting of cadaveric skin is not yet legalized in many countries including Egypt.ObjectivesTo estimate the feasibility of using skin harvested from body contouring procedures as a source of GPA and its clinical efficacy.Patients and methodsSkin harvested from body contouring procedures done in Al-Azhar university hospitals was preserved by glycerolization and used in management of burn and complicated wounds.ResultsIn the period between February 2012 and February 2013 skin was harvested from 24 abdomenoplasty cases, 6 bilateral breast reduction cases, and 1 case of thigh lift done in Al-Azhar university hospitals. This yielded about 22,000 cm2 of skin preserved by glycerolization. This GPA was used in 15 excised burn wounds, in 9 cases of chronic burn wounds, and in 6 complicated wounds. Partial graft loss occurred in 3 cases and total graft loss occurred in 1 case.ConclusionThe glycerolized full-thickness skin harvested from body contouring procedures is clinically effective in burn and wound management. In the presence of regional coordination, it can serve as an abundant source for skin banking in where cadaveric skin use is not legalized.