An Outcome Analysis of Fibrin Sealant versus Staples for Fixation of Split-Thickness Skin Grafts

Skin grafting plays a vital role in post-burn and post-traumatic wound management. Split-thickness skin grafts (STSG) are traditionally fixed using staples or sutures, which have tedious application and their removal necessitates painkillers, medical equipment, and human intervention. As an alternative, fibrin sealant is a biological tissue adhesive, composed of thrombin, calcium, and fibrinogen. Fibrin sealant promotes hemostasis and acts as a biological adherent. The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcomes (graft take, wound healing and complications) of fibrin sealant and staples for STSG fixation. It is a randomized controlled trial on 40 patients with wounds of minimum 400 cm . Wound area was divided into equal halves and randomly allocated to the study group or control group. In the study group, 4 mL per 200 cm of fibrin sealant was sprayed followed by STSG application. In the control group, STSG was fixed with only skin staples. Evaluation was done on postoperative days 3, 5, 15, and 30 for graft take, hematoma/seroma, infection, and complete wound healing. The mean graft take was significantly higher ( -value