User manual in English - Humeca

II. The Micrograft-procedure81. Determining the expansion factorBefore harvesting the autograft from the patient, the expansionfactor is determined.In low- and medium-sized burns, there is no lack of donor sitesand thus no large expansion is required. In these cases anexpansion factor of 1:3 or 1:4 is enough for quickepithelialisation. In extensive burns however, the 1:6 expansionis recommended and only in extreme cases of very high TBSAburns a 1:9 expansion is required.Compared to meshgrafts the quantity of graft required in theMEEK technique is about half as much. Once the expansionfactor is determined, the total donor site area can be roughlycalculated and the graft is taken from the patient.The expansion factor is clearly printed on the peel pouch of eachgauze and it is also indicated on the gauze itself (in one of thecorners the expansion 3, 4, 6 or 9 is relief- printed in thealuminium foil).2. Harvesting the graftBefore harvesting the graft, the skin of the patient is oftengreased with some oil to enable a smooth run of the dermatomeover the skin. However you should not to do this when using theMEEK technique, because the oil prevents good adhesion of thegraft islands to the fabric. Use water or buffered salt solutioninstead, so:Attention!! When applying the MEEK technique, don’tuse oil or any other fatty substance whenharvesting the graft from the patient !!