الفهرس 
SkinOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
 |  | from | 161 |  |  |
| | | from | 161 | | |
Abstract
S
plit thickness skin grafts (STSG) remain the most common surgical technique to cover skin defects. However, the healing of its donor area is of paramount importance. Multiple local drugs are frequently used to enhance its epithelialization. Systemic Insulin was proved to be beneficial for chronic wound healing such as pressure sores and diabetic ulcers. But the effect of local insulin injection was scarcely studied before as regard wound healing. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of intradermal insulin injection on the donor of harvested split-thickness skin graft (STSG).
This thesis aims at comparing the clinical outcome (wound healing time, pain, and scarring) of intradermal insulin injection in split thickness skin graft donor sites compared to conventional dressing.
In this study, 40 patients; 18 males and 22 females with skin loss planned to be covered by STSG were selected. Pregnant, lactating, pre-diabetics and diabetic patients were excluded. The dimensions of the raw area ranged from 5–10 cm for maximum height and width. The thigh was used as a donor area and divided by a horizontal line into test (upper half) and control (lower half) areas. Then, a 10 IU of long-acting insulin (Lantus ®) was intra-dermally injected in the test area. Random blood sugar was measured 6 hours postoperatively. The rate of epithelialization on days 14 and 21 was analyzed by a special software (Image J®) and the scar quality was also evaluated by Vancouver scar scale (VSS).
For the test area, the rate of epithelialization was significantly faster on days 14 and 21 as compared to the control area. But there was no statistical difference between both areas regarding the scar quality when using Vancouver scar scale.
Intradermal injection of insulin in donor sites markedly improves its healing, with faster rate of epithelization which allows early re-harvesting of grafts from same donor sites. However, it doesn’t reduce post-operative pain nor improve the long-term scarring.
CONCLUSION
I
ntradermal injection of insulin in donor sites markedly improves its healing, with faster rate of epithelization which allows early re-harvesting of grafts from same donor sites. However, it does not reduce post-operative pain nor improve the long-term scarring.