An ideal stent for reliable and efficient skin graft application.

A simple, efficient, yet expedient method producing an ideal stent has proved to be highly reliable in over 150 clinical cases. When performed technically correctly, 100% graft take may be anticipated under most grafting circumstances. The method uses Reston (3-M Company, St. Paul, MN), a synthetic urethane foam pad, as the stent material. Reston has intrinsic compressibility; therefore, a consistent external pressure can uniformly be exerted within the effective physiological range needed to achieve graft take. The stent is stapled in position and does not depend upon the mechanical forces generated by tissue elasticity. Several advantages inherent to the method include rapid and efficient surgical application, ease of postoperative care, use in clean or contaminated wounds, and effective and reliable graft survival. The pitfalls of other techniques are avoided. An in vitro study demonstrated the magnitude of the physiological pressures (mm Hg) applied by the elasticity of Reston when stapled in a simulated wound.