Many people become disfigure due to some severe disease or an accident. This disfiguring and looking ugly put them in a state of utter depression. Depressed feelings breaks downs a person completely and damages hope, destroying the routine life activities of such person.
But as it is said, when there is a will, there is a way. Medical science today has progressed so much that a person’s disfigured appearance can be rectified through surgical procedures. These specific surgical procedures are skin grafting and transplant. In skin grafting, the skin is taken from another body part.
Skin consists of two layers; a. The Epidermis, b. The Thicker Dermis. Epidermis is the outer layer of skin, which protects
the skin from losing fluids. The Thicker Dermis nourishes the Epidermis. Approximate thickness of the skin layers is 0.04 to 0.08.
Skin grafting is very common in breast reconstruction, which is generally done after mastectomy; breast surgery in breast cancer patients. The other most commonly treated skin grafting area is face. Depending on the patient’s condition, it is decided whether the skin will be taken from the patient itself or from a donor.
Breast reconstruction is also done for cosmetic purposes. In breast reconstruction procedure, either prosthetic material is used or autologous tissue. Prosthesis is an artificial extension of a body part. In some cases both methods are used. Choice of the methods depends on many factors. Current health conditions, age of the patient, health records, smoking history, any serious disease such as blood pressure and diabetes are keenly observed to choose the method.
The purpose of this surgery is generally to give back the body its natural look. Natural characteristics of the organ are re-developed, both the breasts are made to look similar in size and shape. Areola and nipples are e-formed. Breast surgery is an extensive task which requires multiple operations.
Face transplant is another widely done skin grafting. It is done to recover from a disease’s after effects, birth defects, accidents or burns. It too is often opted for cosmetic purposes. Issue like hiding ones’ identity also brood over. Face transplant is also a lengthy procedure; some operations went up to 50 surgeries.
There are many face transplants done till date. But there is only one that can be said to be near-complete facial transplant. It is an intricate process in which each blood vessel, nerve and muscle should work properly once planted. This surgery is not limited to skin grafting only, but it includes bone grafting too. This process took 22hours to complete.
This operation was performed at Cleveland Clinic, USA. Dr. Maria Siemionow and a group of doctors including E.N.T specialist took part in the process. The face used for taking graft was of a brain-dead donor. It should also be clarified that the patient does not take the facial features of the donor, because the skin drafts are attached to the muscles of the patient’s face which are obviously different from those of the donor.
Transplants and grafting procedures do not end up with operation only, but the after effects are also required to be watched carefully. It is very important that the patient’s body and immune system match with the donated skin and grafting. In case of clash, the transplanted face may get infected and turn black. Another surgery would be required in this case. To prevent the rejection process, immunosuppressive drug therapy is given to the patient. But long term use of immunosuppressive drugs can affect the kidneys and heighten cancer risk.
Grafting technique is very helpful in preventing social isolation of the patient. It not only recovers the person from the trauma of being disfigured but also upgrades the patient’s moral and confidence levels.
