Healing at skin graft donor sites dressed with chitosan

Chitosan is a derivative of chitin, extracted from the exoskeleton of lobst ers, crabs and shrimps. As a semi-permeable biological dressing, it maintai ns a sterile wound exudate beneath a dry scab, preventing dehydration and c ontamination of the wound to optimise conditions for healing. In this study , evaluation of healing at split skin graft donor sites, dressed half with chitosan and half with a conventional dressing, showed that chitosan facili tated rapid wound re-epithelialisation and the regeneration of nerves withi n a vascular dermis. In addition, digital colour separation analysis of don or site scars demonstrated an earlier return to normal skin colour at chito san-treated areas. (C) 2000 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons.