A Novel Eschar-Preserving Technique: Micrografting Autologous Skin into Perforated Burn Eschar for Enhanced Wound Healing

Abstract Burn care has been limited in recent years due to the limited availability of allogenic skin. Nevertheless, some burn patients may refuse surgery because of their age, physical condition, or economic status. We propose a new method involving eschar perforating and inlaying of small autogenic skin patches for the treatment of deep burn wounds in this study. A total of 10 deep burn wounds were included in the study. The skin patches were inlayed 4–21 days after the patients were burned. The ratio of the skin peeling area and the skin grafting area was 1:17 − 1:25. The skin graft survival rate was 53.85%-72.73%. The grafts expanded 3–4 weeks after transplantation and then fused 35–55 days after transplantation. Follow-up examinations revealed that the skin graft area healed well and that scar hyperplasia was less obvious than that in the surrounding area without a skin graft. It is feasible for eschar holing and inlaying of autologous small skin patches in the treatment of deep burn wounds, while the optimal timing and specific methods for skin inlaying still need further research and optimization.