Clinical experience of postage stamp autograft with porcine skin onlay dressing in extensive burns

Fifteen patients with extensive burns (deep second-degree burn > 50%, or third-degree burn > 30% of total body surface area) were treated with postage stamp autograft and meshed porcine skin onlay dressing from 1992 to 1996. All patients received the procedure within 10 days of sustaining the burn, with an average of 6.3 days. The areas chosen for postage stamp autograft were the anterior chest, abdomen, back, buttocks and the proximal part of the extremities. The scalp was the donor site of choice when available. The harvested skin was cut into 0.5 – 1.0 cm postage-stamp-like squares and applied to the recipient sites separated by a distance of 0.5 – 2.0 cm. The expansion ratio was from 1:4 to 1:9. Meshed porcine skin was then used for onlay dressing. The average graft area was 26% of the total body surface area. The success rate of the skin grafts was nearly 100% in 14 patients. One patient had a 40% loss due to contamination from adjacent wounds. In conclusion, the postage stamp autograft with porcine skin overlay is an effective way to treat extensive burn wounds in the early stages.