Wound Drainage from Under Full-thickness Skin Grafts in Dogs Part I. Quantitative Evaluation of Four Techniques

The formation of hematomas or seromas under skin grafts is reported to be the most common cause of graft failure. Several techniques have been developed to prevent fluid accumulation by increasing drainage, but their effectiveness has not been evaluated. In this study, four full-thickness skin grafting procedures were performed on both sides of the chests of 12 dogs, and the amount of wound drainage was quantitated for the first 10 postoperative days. The techniques evaluated were a sheet graft (control), continuous low level suction, piecrust incisions, and nonexpanded mesh graft. Significantly more drainage fluid was removed by continuous low level suction than the other techniques evaluated. Meshing allowed significantly more drainage than the piecrust or sheet grafts but was not as effective as continuous low level suction. Piecrust incisions had no significant effect on wound drainage.