Your Recovery
Skin grafts are thin sheets of healthy skin removed from one part of the body (donor site) and put on another part. Grafts can be used to treat skin damaged by burns, infection, or other injury. If possible, the doctor takes healthy skin from areas that are usually covered by clothes or are not easily seen.
You will have a bandage over the skin graft. The area may be sore for 1 to 2 weeks. Keep the area of the skin graft dry while it heals, unless your doctor gives you other instructions. If possible, prop up the area of your body that has the skin graft. Keeping it raised will reduce swelling and fluid buildup that can cause problems with the graft. You also will have a bandage on the donor site.
Try to avoid getting sunlight on the skin graft for several months. This helps to prevent a permanent change of colour in the grafted skin. And for at least 3 weeks after surgery, avoid exercise that stretches the skin graft, unless your doctor gives you other instructions.
If the graft was placed on your legs, arms, hands, or feet, you may need physiotherapy to prevent scar tissue from limiting your movement. This therapy is very important. It may involve wearing splints and doing stretches and range-of-motion exercises. These may be painful, but they help you to heal properly.
It may take months for you to regain some feeling in the grafted area. The feeling will be different than it was before your injury.
You may not have sweat glands in the skin graft area. If the grafted area is large, this may make it hard for the area to cool off when you are hot. The grafted area may not have oil glands. This can make the skin graft dry and flaky. After your graft heals, you may need to use lotion to keep the skin moist. The skin graft may not grow hair.
Sometimes skin grafts do not "take" or survive after being transferred. If the skin graft doesn't work, you may need another graft.
This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take for you to recover. But each person recovers at a different rate, and certain areas of the body take longer to heal than others. Follow the steps below to feel better as quickly as possible.
Follow-up care is a key part of your treatment and safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor or nurse advice line (811 in most provinces and territories) if you are having problems. It's also a good idea to know your test results and keep a list of the medicines you take.