Background: The main stay for treatment of major burns
is early excision and coverage. Nevertheless, the skin autografts
is the gold standard for coverage but in major burns, the donor
for autografts is limited. So, normal skin substitutes are
considered as an advantageous alternative. Although they are
limited due to their cost and availability. Skin allografts are
a rich source which was considered as a medical waste and
thanks to bariatric surgery which assisted obese patients to
lose weight leaving them in a need for different body contouring
procedure.
So, this study aimed to evaluate the pathological and
clinical effects of skin Allografts from Massive Weight Loss
donors to treat major burn.
Patients and Methods: A total of 80 patients with major
burns underwent early excision in (early 48 hrs. post trauma)
and covered by either: Allografts from MWL donors (in group < br />I) or by: Non MWL Allografts (group II). Biopsies were taken
and examined for the effect of allografts over the wound bed
and the Photographic Wound Assessment Tool (PWAT) was
applied to evaluate the percentage of improvement after
applying different types of skin substitutes.
Results: Percentage of improvement was significantly
higher among patients who used Allografts from non-massive
weight loss donors when compared with patients who used
Allografts from massive weight loss donors.
Conclusion: Non MWL allografts are of better results in
the take of the 1st dressing change and in the detachment day.
Moreover, patients who received Allografts from MWL developed
sepsis that increased their hospital stay and hence
more complications. Yet, MWL donors are a reliable source
for allografts until cadaveric skin donation is legalized especially
in major burns treatment as the donor is not always
sufficient for coverage so, the use of skin Allografts is a lifesaving
alternative.