Skin Grafting for Venous Skin Ulcer

Topic Overview

Skin grafting can be an effective treatment for a large, difficult-to-heal venous skin ulcer. A skin graft closes a wound and stimulates healing by triggering skin cell growth in the wound site. Various types of tissue are used for skin grafting, including:

• A dressing derived from one's own skin cells, called an autograft, placed on the wound. Other types of autograft (called split- or partial-thickness skin grafts) graft skin from one part of the body to another.
• A bioengineered human skin equivalent, or allograft.
• Preserved animal skin, often from a pig, called a xenograft.

If you have a long-standing venous skin ulcer, discuss skin grafting with your doctor. Depending on your condition, you may be a candidate for this type of treatment. But there are no guarantees that skin grafting will work for you.