Background: Full-Thickness skin grafts are routinely used to reconstruct defects throughout the body. When planning the size of the graft, the surgeon usually copies a template from the defect and measures the graft to fit its full dimensions. This may lead to an oversized graft, resulting an unaesthetic outcome.
Objective: To evaluate discrepancy in size between the excised full-thickness skin and the excision (donor) site.
Methods: Data from 20 cases of full-thickness excisions was reviewed and analyzed.
Results: There was a considerable difference in length of both the short and long axes between the excised full-thickness skin and the excision site.
Conclusions: The initial size of a full-thickness skin graft should be smaller than the defect it is planned to cover.