Skin Graft Advice Please

Hi Lizzie,

I am sorry to hear about the issue with your skin graft. I had a split-thickness graft on my foot, which had the same issue. It was a tricky spot, too, so that bit of the graft that didn't take simply kept getting pulled off each time I walked! All I did, as per nurse advice, was to keep it clean and moist, just like any other wound. The nurse stocked me with Jelonet dressing, which I used. It did heal completely after a couple of weeks. I hope yours will, too. 

Sorry to hear you’ve had some issues with your graft. I had similar issues with mine. My WLE and graft is in a similar location to yours. Mine was done in early October. What I noticed along the way was the graft only started to look good after they stopped using the thick medicated dressings and it started to dry out. That was about 5 or 6 weeks after the op. However I was left with 3 areas of the graft that were scabby and the graft hadn’t taken so well, but they were dry and looking fine. I had a couple of areas that were lumpy and pink at times, which they described as granulation and gave me some steroid cream for a couple of times which fixed that quickly each time. However around the end of November I was at work one day and noticed my leg was wet. I checked the wound and all three scabby bits had become soggy and there was lots of fluid weeping out from under them.

When I showed plastics nurse a day or two late, he decided to remove the remaining scabs to help it heal, and put in some of that medicated stuff for a couple of days. However on doing so, he found a rogue non dissolvable stitch in one of the lumpy bits, which also wasn’t in my notes. He removed that confirmed he didn’t feel there was any infection and sent me on my way. Since then I’ve gone through a number of cycles of the scabs getting hard, then comming lose and starting to weep. I was concerned they were not getting much better as a result however the last couple weeks they have gotten noticably better and although the cycle continues, it’s a lot less fluid comming out on the weepy days each time. Assuming the improvement continues, it will have been a full three months since the op in a couple of weeks so it has taken a bit of time for me

Sorry a bit of a grim description but thought it might help. 

Thank you. I’ll ask the nurse to have a good look at it on Wednesday. I think the other problem is I seem to get a different nurse every time I go to the hospital so there is no continuity of care which doesn’t help.  

Thank you. I’ll ask the nurse about that dressing on Wednesday. 

I had the same issue of different nurses each time but they were all generally good bough I had to fill them in on my history each time. One thing I forgot was that once it all dried out, and I was able to shower I was told to wash the graft regularly with some mild unscented kids soap and use E45 around the outside edge of the wound. I did that for a few weeks but I was concerned about using e45 inside the wound though until the open bits healed. But I threw caution to the wind and started using e45 all over around the second week in December and it helped quite a bit. Last few weeks I’m finding the skin around the outside of the wound really itchy and it helps with that also. Might be a bit soon for you if you are still having to keep it covered with dressings as I guess yours hasn’t dried out yet but worth keeping in mind when the time is right. 

anyway good luck and I hope it heals up for you soon

I had WLE with large area taken off the back of my heal which required padding. Operation mid August and it was at least 2 months before it was  sufficiently healed over to expose to air. I was impatient but the nurses were wonderful and we got there in the end. Wound still not pretty but walked 7 miles on Dartmoor 4 months after the WLE and during immunotherapy. Hang in there. You will get there

Hi there, yes I had one area with the red lump (overgranulation) and then the graft started leaking badly at about 6 weeks. This fluid caused an awful itchy blistery rash around the outside of my graft. The hospital gave me a cream.called Terra cortril which dried it up instantly. Up until I got the cream I didn't think the dressings were ever going to come off but this healed it all quickly and I was able to take my dressings.of more or less as soon as I started with the cream.  Hope you get something that helps, it really got me down as I felt my graft was never going to heal but this sorted it out thankfully. Good luck.