If a scar to be revised or skin lesion being removed is particularly large, a skin graft may be performed. This involves transferring skin from another, healthy part of the body (donor site) to the injured site (recipient site).

 

While skin grafting can improve the function of a damaged area, some scarring will be left at both the donor and recipient sites. Skin grafting can be performed under local or general anaesthesia, depending on the size of the area involved. The wound may take weeks or months to heal and you may need to wear a support bandage for a similar period.

 

Different kinds of skin grafts leave different donor site wounds.

 

Skin grafts always look like a patch of skin that is slightly different to the rest of the area it is attached to. In many cases there can be a contour irregularity (like a dent) after healing has finished, because the graft is often much thinner than the piece of skin that has been removed or altered at the area the graft is attached. There is a chance that a skin graft can fail to 'take', which would lead to an unhealed raw wound.