Hand-held device for preparation of a skin graft by tangential excision of layers of tissue

Abstract

Hand-held appliance for preparation of an excised skin graft, that is placed upon a plane surface, by tangential excision of tissue below the epidermis to produce a trimmed skin graft of desired remaining tissue layers and thickness with a blade that is held between two holding rods, that can be placed on a plane surface and that is held in a height-adjustable axis parallel to the surface. The end regions of the rods are shaped so that the distance between the axis and the contact surface of the edge of the end regions to the surface changes at least by sections, while the minimal distance and the maximal distance define the lowest and the highest cutting plane, respectively, so that the distance of the cutting plane is defined by the operating angle between the plane of the rods and the surface.

Description

TECHNICAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001] The invention refers to a hand-held device according to the preamble of the patent claim 1.[0002] Skin grafting for surgical or cosmetic purposes constitutes an essential part of surgical maneuvers, especially for broad wounds resulting from injury or from removal of a skin tumor. According to the medical indication and the recipient site, e. g. in the facial region for cosmetic purposes, skin grafts of divergent thickness, which comprise all or only some tissue layers of the skin are used. Thus, one differentiates e. g. full-thickness skin grafts (FTSG), which comprise epidermis and complete dermis from split-thickness skin grafts (STSG), which include epidermis and only a part of the dermis.[0003] There are various procedures for graft taking, that are not of detailed concern in consideration of the invention under discussion, like the excision of the desired skin layer for grafting by mechanical or electromechanical devices (so-called d...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Generally, it is not possible to place the excised "raw" graft directly on the recipient site in a medically suitable way, as thickness and type of tissue layers of the skin graft require further manipulation, respectively preparation, to remove undesired tissue layers, e. g. subcutaneous fat and to adapt the underside of the skin graft to the recipient site optimally.

Obviously, this conventional method to trim a skin graft is not optimal, as it depends solely on the manual skills of the surgeon and an even thickness of the whole graft is not warranted.

There is also a risk of contamination for the skin graft resulting from the tight contact to the hand of the surgeon, who is at risk of injuring himself while using scissors just above the surface of his hand.

Finally, a perforation of the skin graft cannot be excluded.

This basically manual and time-consuming method hence does not provide optimal requirements for successful grafting in a hygienic respect, as well.

Even though this device offers more reliability than the beforehand described manual preparation with scissors, it is cumbersome and the adjustment of the blade position is laborious, which is especially disadvantageous, if the once adjusted distance between the blade and the surface does not directly result in the desired remaining thickness of the skin graft.

The multitude of components requires a high precision in its production and makes this known device uneconomical.

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