Open Skin Grafting of War Wounds

During the period from April 1971 to September 1971, 30 young male patients with war wounds sustained in the conflict of Viet Nam were treated by open skin grafting of their wounds at the Orthopedic Servlce of Taegu Hospital. The majority of patients had multiple wounds and most had associated fractures of the long bones. The indication, preoperative preparation, operative technique, postoperative care and results have been described. We believe that this open skin grafting offers the following advantages over other techniques; 1) Graft taken more satisfactorily. 2) Remarkable decrease of operating time. 3) Simplicity of operative technique. 4) Continuous observation of wound healing. 5) Relative safety in using this treatment upon unstable injured limbs and cases with neurovascular deficit because the lesion is free from compression dressing. 6) The grafts tend to be “take” even if there is bleeding or drainage, because it can be carefully rolled out under the direct observation.