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Are your skin grafting methods outdated?

Use this checklist to find out

outdated skin grafting methods

So, you feel like your skin grafting tools
are out of the dark ages.

We totally get it!

You’re convinced there must be a better way to perform skin grafting procedures. You’re frustrated with complicated equipment, masses of cables and unusable grafts. So, what could be causing all this frustration? Is it the technique? The equipment? Possibly both?

If you can check any item on this list, you may not be using the most advanced skin grafting technology and expansion methods available in South Africa:

  • Your dermatomes aren't cordless!

    If you’re still battling with electric dermatomes – constantly tripping over wires, finding space for consoles, and avoiding the safety hazards of electrical points –it’s time to move over to cordless. Battery operated dermatomes offer the simplicity and safety you’ve been looking for.

  • Your dermatomes are big, heavy, and difficult to handle.

    Trying to perform a delicate procedure with a chunky, unintuitive piece of equipment makes your life difficult. Sometimes, obtaining the best graft means holding your dermatome at an uncomfortable angle just to reach the trigger. Even though a cordless dermatome houses a battery, it is thinner, and easier to handle than traditional dermatomes. This makes it a must have for those with smaller hands.

  • You battle to get a smooth, precise skin graft.

    Obtaining accurate graft thickness is exasperating because it’s hardly ever accurate. Look for dermatomes that have a surgeon friendly method of changing the graft thickness to suit your exact needs.

Humeca dermatome for skin grafting
Humeca D42 and D80 Dermatomes
skin grafting dermatome
Skin Graft Thickness is easily changeable

  • Your meshers use a ratchet mechanism.

    Most conventional Meshers use a ratchet to move skin carriers through the device. This stop-start motion can lead to precious time wasting and unusable grafts. A Mesher operated by a rotating handle ensures that meshing is not only done in a single fluid motion but will be swift and precise as well.

  • Your skin graft slides all over the derma-carrier.

    The symmetric groove pattern of ‘V-carriers’ prevents unwanted sideways movement during meshing. The standard length of these carriers is 28 cm, making them 40% longer than traditional carriers: often 1 carrier will do where you would have used 2. The groove pattern of the carriers connects to each other (head to toe), giving the ability to neatly mesh long strips of skin graft.

Humeca mesher for skin grafting
Humeca Mesher and V-Carrier
Humeca derma carrier for skin grafting
Symmetric Groove Pattern of V-Carriers

  • Your expansion ratios are inaccurate.

    After the effort of grafting and meshing your donor skin, you find you don’t have nearly the amount of coverage you need. The MEEK skin expansion system gives you the most precise expansion ratios available to date. This means your precious donor skin is used to its full extent.

  • Your donor skin does not cover the area you hoped for.

    With traditional methods of meshing being so inaccurate, your skin coverage is often compromised. When you’re planning on working on a 1:6 expansion ratio, you only manage to get a 1:4 (or worse, lower!) expansion. As opposed to the traditional methods, the MEEK technique enables you to enjoy accurate and significantly greater ratios of up to 1:9 expansion, enabling you to cover the entire area as planned.

  • You’re wasting precious donor skin!

    Admit it: a little part of you dies inside every time you throw away unused donor skin, especially from those patients with high TBSA burns! The way the MEEK skin expansion technique expands skin, means that you can use every bit of skin graft available – down to the tiniest piece. You no longer need to throw away valuable grafted skin.

  • You’re losing whole grafts due to one small, infected site.

    With traditional meshing methods, the skin graft remains one piece when applied to the wound. This means that if an infection appears in any one spot, the entire skin graft is lost. The unique “islands” created by the MEEK skin expansion technique ensure that only the infected islands are lost, and the healthy graft remains in place.

  • Your patients are spending way too long in hospital.

    With all the difficulties arising from traditional methods of harvesting, expanding, and transplanting donor skin, it’s often the patient who suffers. This leads to longer hospital stays, increased risk of infection, and increased mortality rates. The skin islands produced by the MEEK expansion method have been scientifically proven to allow greater coverage relative to the amount of harvested skin, significantly reduce healing time, decrease the number of theatre visits, and provide better aesthetics.

skin islands for skin grafting
'Postage Stamp' Skin Islands
wound after meek technique
Skin Islands Applied to Wound Bed

At Instrumental Healthcare, we are committed to equipping clinics and hospitals with industry-leading products, like the Humeca Skin Transplant Range, to keep your unit running and fully stocked to handle any emergency. 

 

 

happy doctor and patient 

 

Instrumental Healthcare – Your partner in advanced skin grafting solutions

With over 20 years of experience in providing surgical instruments, solutions, and wound care innovations to leading hospital groups across South Africa, Instrumental Healthcare streamlines your uninterrupted provision of quality healthcare to your patients. We pride ourselves on providing the right tools, at the right time at competitive prices, backed by nationwide coverage to ensure quick and efficient delivery.

 

Visit our website to view some of our products, or schedule a call today with a member of our team to consolidate your unit’s needs with a partner you can rely on. 

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Running a hospital department can be complicated and costly, which adds high levels of stress. Instrumental Healthcare creates simple and innovative surgical solutions that help you achieve excellent patient care without frustration, giving you peace of mind.

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The Instrumental Blog

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