Demographic characteristics and outcome of burn patients requiring skin grafts: a tertiary hospital experience.

Split thickness skin graft (STSG) and full thickness skin graft (FTSG) are the integral part of burn wound management. However the impact of these graft types on the outcome still remain a matter of controversy. The purpose of this study was to determine the demographic characteristics and outcome of graft surgery of the patients undergone STSG and FTSG at Plastic Surgery Department of Prince Sultan Military Medical City (PSMMC), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This retrospective study included 85 burn patients who received STSG (56 cases) and FTSG (29 cases) at PSMMC during 2010-2015. Demographic characteristics (age, gender, etiology of burn, and area of burn) and outcome (graft loss, graft contraction, skin pigmentation, altered sensation, infection rate and duration of hospital stay) were recorded among the patients who received STSG or FTSG. Out of 85 patients 50 patients were male and 35 female with a ratio of 1.42:1. The patients under the age of 10 years comprised the largest burn group with 28 cases (32.9%) out of total 85 patients. The number of patients above the age of 30 years was relatively smaller. Flame (49.3%) and scald (27%) burns constituted the majority of burn cases. The incidence of contraction among STSG (12.5%) and in FTSG (17.2%) cases was similar. Altered sensation was observed in 7.05% of STSG patients and 13.7% of FTSG cases. Loss of graft was observed in 16% of STSG and 20.6% of FTSG patients. The pigmentation was quite similar in STSG (21.4%) and FTSG (24. 1%). The hospitalization time in FTSG (28 days) patients was also comparable with STSG (26.9 days) group. This study showed that majority of the skin graft cases at PSMMC were male under the age of 30 years mostly affected by flame or scald burns. The outcome following STSG and FTSG surgery was comparable with no significant advantage of one over the other. It may be deduced that both STSG and FTSG have relative merits and demerits and either of these grafting procedure may be considered depending on depth and extent of injury, location and surface area of burn.