Skin Grafts in Children: What to Expect at Home
Your Child's Recovery
Skin grafts are small sections 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.
Your child 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 you can,
prop up the area of your child's body that has the skin graft.
Keeping it raised will reduce swelling and fluid buildup that can
cause problems with the graft.
Your child also will have a bandage on the donor site. The donor
site can hurt during recovery. Your child may have a special type of
bandage on it to help reduce pain. Your child may get a shot of
long-lasting pain medicine in the area.
If the graft was placed on your child's legs, arms, hands, or feet,
your child may need physical therapy to prevent scar tissue from
limiting movement. This therapy is very important. It may include
wearing splints and doing stretches and range-of-motion exercises.
These may be painful, but they help your child to heal properly.
It may take months for your child to regain some feeling in the
grafted area. The feeling will be different than it was before the
injury.
Your child 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 your child is hot. The grafted area may not have oil
glands. This can make the skin graft dry and flaky. After the graft
heals, you may need to use lotion to keep the skin moist. The skin
graft may not grow hair.
Your child's care team will check the skin graft often to make sure
that it's healing well. Sometimes the skin graft doesn't work. If
this happens, your child may need another one.
This care sheet gives you a general idea about how long it will take
for your child to recover. But each child recovers at a different
pace. Follow the steps below to help your child get better as
quickly as possible.
How can you care for your child at home?
Activity
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Do not allow your child to do strenuous activity until
your doctor says it is okay. This includes riding bikes,
playing running games, wrestling, and taking part in gym
class.
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Diet
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Your child can eat a normal diet. If your child's stomach
is upset, try bland, low-fat foods like plain rice,
broiled chicken, toast, and yogurt.
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Help your child eat a well-balanced diet with enough
protein to help the wound heal. Protein is a key nutrient
in helping to repair damaged tissue and promote new tissue
growth. Good sources of protein are milk, yogurt, cheese,
meat, and beans.
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Medicines
Skin
graft and donor site care
Follow-up care is a key part of your child's treatment and
safety. Be sure to make and go to all appointments, and call your doctor
if your child is having problems. It's also a good idea to know your
child's test results and keep a list of the medicines your child
takes.
When should you call for help?
Call 911 anytime you think your child may need emergency
care. For example, call if:
Call your doctor now or seek immediate medical care if:
Watch closely for changes in your child's health, and be sure to
contact your doctor if:
Current as of: September 20, 2023
Content Version: 14.0
Care instructions adapted under license by your healthcare professional. If you have questions about a medical condition or this instruction, always ask your healthcare professional. Healthwise, Incorporated disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information.