Impact of Topical Heparin on Improved Healing Outcomes of Skin Graft Donor Site
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68279/wap6b507Keywords:
Skin Transplantation; Heparin; Wound Healing; Pain Management; Burn Patients; Donor Site.Abstract
Background: Split-thickness skin graft harvesting creates a secondary donor-site wound that may cause postoperative pain, delayed epithelialization, and additional morbidity. Topical heparin has been proposed as an adjunct to promote wound recovery. Objective: To compare healing and postoperative morbidity outcomes between topical heparin-treated and conventionally dressed split-thickness skin graft donor sites. Methods: This within-participant controlled interventional study was conducted at the Department of Burn and Reconstructive Surgery, Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi. Forty adults undergoing split-thickness skin grafting contributed two donor sites each, yielding 40 paired comparisons and 80 donor sites. One site received topical heparin from postoperative days 2–5, while the other received conventional dressing. Pain, analgesic requirement, healing time, and edema resolution were assessed. Continuous paired outcomes were analyzed using paired comparisons. Results: Mean pain scores were 2.82 ± 0.23 with heparin and 3.99 ± 0.28 with conventional dressing, a mean difference of −1.17 points. Mean analgesic requirements were 1575.0 ± 378.76 mg and 2292.5 ± 462.09 mg, respectively. Mean healing time was 14.15 ± 1.95 versus 19.60 ± 2.08 days, a difference of −5.45 days, while edema resolved at 4.93 ± 0.89 versus 6.94 ± 1.15 days. Conclusion: Topical heparin-treated donor sites showed shorter mean healing and edema-resolution times and lower postoperative pain and analgesic requirements than conventionally treated sites.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Sania Khalid, Husnain Khan, Javeria Arshad Kiani, Abdur Rehman Akhtar Warraich (Author)
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