Caring for the Donor Site After a Skin Graft: Dressings, Discomfort and How It Heals

The strange thing about a skin graft, as many people discover on the first night home, is that the wound that hurts most is often not the one that was fixed. The repaired eyelid or nose or cheek sits quietly under its bolster. The outer thigh, or the patch behind the ear where the skin was borrowed, is the one that stings, weeps and demands attention.

That borrowed patch is the donor site, and it gets less airtime than it deserves. Surgeons naturally focus on whether the graft “takes.” Patients, meanwhile, are left holding a leaking dressing and a list of questions: how often to change it, why the discharge summary mentions petroleum jelly, and whether the throbbing is normal.

Good skin graft donor site care is mostly about patience and a few well-chosen habits. Here is what the evidence says about how that skin regrows, what dressings actually do, and where the genuine warning signs lie.

What is a skin graft donor site, and why does skin graft donor site care matter?

A skin graft moves a piece of skin from one part of the body to cover a wound somewhere else. The place it is taken from is the donor site, and the place it is moved to is the recipient site. In facial reconstruction, for example after removal of a skin cancer or repair of a burn, the graft may be quite small, but the donor site still needs to heal as a wound in its own right.

Skin graft donor site care matters for three reasons. First, the donor site is often the larger and more uncomfortable of the two wounds, because it exposes a broad area of raw dermis with many nerve endings. Second, it is a fresh wound that can become infected, and infection at either site can complicate the whole operation. Third, how the donor site heals determines what it looks like in a year: a neat, faintly pale patch versus a raised, discolored or itchy scar.

There is also a practical point that surgeons rarely have time to spell out. The graft itself is usually protected by a firm bolster dressing that you are told not to touch. The donor site, by contrast, is frequently handed back to you. You or a family member may be changing its dressing within days. That makes it the part of recovery where your own actions have the most influence.

MedlinePlus describes the donor site as a wound that heals on its own for thinner grafts, or is closed with stitches for thicker ones, and notes that it typically needs a dressing for one to two weeks or until the surgeon says otherwise. Understanding which type you have is the starting point for everything that follows.

How does a donor site actually heal? The skin regrows from below

Skin has two main layers. The epidermis is the thin outer sheet you can see. The dermis beneath it is thicker and holds the hair follicles, sweat glands and blood vessels. A split-thickness graft removes the full epidermis and only part of the dermis, leaving behind the deeper dermis with its follicles and glands intact. Those structures are the reason the site can heal without stitches.

Each hair follicle and sweat gland is lined with the same type of cell that makes epidermis. After the shave, those cells begin dividing and creeping outward across the raw surface, like ice forming from many points on a pond. This process is called re-epithelialization, which simply means the growth of a new outer skin layer. Within roughly a week the wound is covered by a fragile pink film; over the following weeks it thickens and toughens.

Two things help this process and two things hinder it. Moisture and warmth help: cells migrate more easily across a moist surface than under a dry scab. A steady blood supply helps too, which is why the thigh, back and buttock are common donor sites for larger grafts. Repeated trauma hinders it, because each time a stuck dressing is pulled away it tears off the new cells. Infection hinders it as well, by turning the wound environment inflamed and hostile.

A full-thickness graft, often used on the face for color match and a more natural finish, removes the entire dermis. There are no follicles left behind to regrow skin, so the surgeon closes the edges with stitches. That site heals like any surgical incision: a line rather than a patch. Cleveland Clinic notes that full-thickness donor sites are usually taken from areas with spare, loose skin, such as behind the ear, the neck or above the collarbone, where a line scar is easily hidden.

Split-thickness vs full-thickness donor sites: what to expect from each

Because the two kinds of donor site heal in different ways, their care differs too. The table below summarizes what patients usually notice, drawing on descriptions from MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic.

Feature	Split-thickness donor site	Full-thickness donor site
What is removed	Epidermis plus part of the dermis	Epidermis and the whole dermis
Typical location	Thigh, buttock, upper arm, back, scalp	Behind the ear, neck, collarbone area, groin crease, inner arm
How it is closed	Left to regrow under a dressing	Stitched edge to edge
Appearance early on	Broad, red, weeping, graze-like	A straight line with stitches or glue
Usual healing range	About 1–3 weeks to skin over, longer for thicker shaves	Stitches often removed at about 1–2 weeks; line matures over months
Discomfort	Often the most uncomfortable wound in the first days	Usually similar to any small incision
Long-term look	Flat patch, paler or darker than surrounding skin	Fine line scar

The healing ranges are typical figures reported in patient information from MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic, not guarantees. A thicker split-thickness shave takes longer than a thin one, because fewer follicles remain and the surface is deeper. Age, circulation and general health also shift the timeline.

For facial work, both types are common. A surgeon repairing a nasal tip after cancer removal might take a full-thickness piece from behind the ear, leaving a hidden line. A larger cheek or forehead repair might use a split-thickness sheet from the thigh. Knowing which you have tells you whether to expect a weeping patch or a stitched line, and which set of instructions in this article applies.

Who heals a donor site easily, and who is usually asked to wait or take extra care?

Most people heal a donor site without drama. Healthy adults with good circulation and no active infection usually see a split-thickness site skin over within the typical two to three week window. Younger skin tends to regrow faster and thicker; older skin is thinner to begin with, so surgeons often shave a thinner graft and expect a slightly slower recovery.

Several groups are asked to plan more carefully. People who smoke are consistently flagged in surgical guidance, including NHS plastic surgery information, because nicotine narrows small blood vessels and reduces oxygen delivery to healing tissue. Surgeons commonly ask patients to stop smoking well before and after grafting, and some will postpone elective procedures until a patient has done so. The same logic applies to vaping nicotine.

People living with diabetes may heal more slowly, particularly if blood glucose is running high, and are at greater risk of wound infection. Those on long-term corticosteroids, chemotherapy or other medicines that suppress the immune system face similar issues. Poor nutrition, especially low protein intake, slows skin regrowth. Circulatory conditions such as peripheral artery disease matter most when the donor site is on a leg.

None of this means grafting is off the table. It means the team may choose a different donor location, take a thinner graft, schedule closer follow-up, or delay a non-urgent operation until a modifiable factor, such as glucose control or smoking, has improved. Where a graft is needed to close a cancer excision, the balance usually tips toward proceeding with extra monitoring rather than waiting.

If you fall into one of these groups, the practical implication is simple: expect your donor site to be checked more often, keep every follow-up appointment, and do not adjust any prescribed medicine on your own. Whether to pause or continue a drug around surgery is a decision for the prescribing clinician and the surgical team together.

How to dress a skin graft donor site: the principles behind the instructions

Ask five surgeons how to dress a skin graft donor site and you may get five different products. That is not carelessness. Systematic reviews of donor site dressings have repeatedly found that no single dressing is clearly superior on every measure, so choice is driven by local experience, wound size and patient comfort. What the various approaches share are a few principles worth understanding, so the instructions you are given make sense.

The first principle is to leave the initial dressing alone. The dressing applied in theatre is usually left undisturbed for several days, sometimes longer, because the earliest healing is the most fragile. MedlinePlus advises patients not to remove or change this first dressing unless told to.

The second is moisture balance. The wound should be moist but not soaking. Many teams use a non-adherent layer, meaning a dressing designed not to stick to the wound, directly against the skin, with an absorbent pad on top to catch the fluid a donor site produces in its first week. Others prefer a sealed film or a foam that holds moisture in place and is left on until the skin beneath has healed.

The third is gentleness at every change. If a dressing has dried onto the wound, it should be soaked off with clean lukewarm water or saline rather than pulled. Tearing away stuck gauze removes the new epidermis and resets the clock.

Typical home routine, when a team asks you to manage the site yourself:

• Wash your hands and lay out fresh materials before uncovering the wound.
• Remove the outer pad; soak off the inner layer if it clings.
• Look, but do not scrub. A gentle rinse is enough.
• Apply the ointment or contact layer you were given, then a fresh pad, and secure it without tight tape on the skin itself.

Frequency varies from daily to every few days. Follow your own team’s schedule; it reflects the dressing they chose and the amount of fluid your wound is producing.

Why put petroleum jelly on skin grafts and donor sites?

The petroleum jelly question comes up in almost every clinic. Discharge sheets often recommend a thin layer of plain petroleum jelly, also called petrolatum, over a healing donor site or a newly settled graft, and patients understandably wonder whether something so ordinary can be doing anything useful.

The answer lies in a concept called moist wound healing. Decades of wound research have shown that epidermal cells migrate faster across a moist surface than under a hard, dry scab. A scab is essentially a barrier that the new cells have to burrow beneath. A thin film of petroleum jelly slows water loss from the wound surface, preventing that crust from forming, and it stops the overlying dressing from sticking. Cleveland Clinic and MedlinePlus both describe keeping the graft and donor site moist and covered as a standard part of home care.

Petroleum jelly has other qualities that suit healing skin. It contains no fragrance, preservatives or active ingredients, so it rarely causes contact allergy. That matters, because antibiotic ointments used without a clear indication are a common cause of allergic skin reactions around surgical wounds, and some surgeons now prefer plain petrolatum for that reason. It is also inexpensive and universally available, which is why it appears on so many instruction sheets.

A few caveats keep this in perspective. Petroleum jelly is not a treatment for infection and will not reduce scarring on its own. It is applied as a thin layer, not a thick smear; too much keeps the wound wetter than it needs to be. It should be used only once the team has cleared you to touch the site, and it is not a substitute for the dressing itself in the early weeping phase. If a surgeon has prescribed a different ointment for a specific reason, use that instead and ask before switching.

How painful is the donor site of a skin graft, and what helps?

Honest answer: for many people the donor site hurts more than the graft in the first few days, and it is worth knowing that in advance so it does not feel like something has gone wrong. The reason is anatomical. A split-thickness shave exposes a wide area of dermis crowded with fine nerve endings, similar to a deep graze on a knee, but larger and deliberately created. The recipient site, by contrast, is covered by the graft itself and is often numbed by the injury or surgery that created the wound.

Skin graft donor site pain usually follows a recognizable pattern described in patient literature from MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic. It is sharpest in the first two to three days, especially when the dressing shifts or dries. It eases noticeably once the surface has been covered by new epidermis, typically within the first week to ten days for thinner grafts. What remains is more often a tight, itchy or tender sensation than true pain.

Several things reduce discomfort without any medicine at all. Keeping the dressing moist and non-adherent prevents the sharp pull of gauze on raw tissue. Avoiding friction from waistbands or tight clothing over a thigh site helps enormously. Elevating a leg donor site reduces throbbing. Cool rooms and loose cotton reduce the itch that follows.

Where medicine is needed, surgical teams commonly suggest simple oral pain relief such as acetaminophen or an anti-inflammatory in the first days, stepping down as the surface heals. Which option is appropriate depends on your other conditions and medicines, so this should be agreed with the prescribing clinician rather than improvised. Pain that increases after the first few days, rather than easing, is a signal to be checked rather than tolerated; it can be an early sign of infection.

A full-thickness donor site, being a stitched line, usually behaves like any small incision: sore for a few days, then settling.

Skin graft donor site healing time: what the first weeks usually look like

Recovery rarely follows a neat calendar, but there is a typical shape to it that most patients recognize. The ranges below are drawn from MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic patient information and describe a split-thickness site in a healthy adult. Your own team’s timeline takes precedence.

Days 1 to 3. The dressing is usually left untouched. Expect the pad to become stained with pink or straw-colored fluid, sometimes quite a lot of it. This is serum, the liquid part of blood, and it is normal. The site stings and throbs, particularly at night.

Days 4 to 7. Fluid production drops. If your team changes the dressing during this window, you may see a glossy red surface with paler islands forming around each hair follicle. Those islands are new epidermis. Pain begins to ease as they spread and join.

Week 2. Most thin donor sites are covered by a delicate pink skin by now. It looks shiny, feels tight and tears easily if knocked. Many teams move from a full dressing to a light covering or ointment at this stage. Itching often starts here.

Weeks 3 to 6. The new skin thickens and becomes more robust. Color is typically a deep pink or red. Gentle moisturizing is usually permitted. The area may still be sensitive to heat and sun.

Months 3 to 12. Redness fades gradually. The final shade settles, often lighter or occasionally darker than surrounding skin, and the texture flattens. Scar maturation continues for a year or more.

Deeper shaves, older skin, smoking and diabetes all lengthen each stage. A stitched full-thickness site skips the weeping phase entirely: stitches usually come out at about one to two weeks, and the line then matures over the same months-long horizon.

Can I shower, exercise and move normally with a healing donor site?

The instinct after surgery is to keep everything bone dry and perfectly still. For a donor site, neither extreme is helpful, and both create their own problems.

Washing is usually straightforward once the team has cleared you, often after the first dressing change. Most patient guidance, including MedlinePlus discharge advice, permits showering with the site covered by a waterproof layer, or briefly uncovered if the surface has skinned over, followed by patting dry with a clean towel and reapplying the dressing or ointment. Baths and swimming are generally discouraged until the surface has fully healed, because soaking softens new epidermis and pools bacteria against it. Hot water and strong soap directly on the wound sting and dry it out; lukewarm water and a mild, fragrance-free cleanser are gentler.

Movement depends on where the donor site is. A thigh or buttock site tolerates walking well, and walking is encouraged for circulation and to reduce the risk of blood clots after any operation. What it does not tolerate is repetitive friction: cycling, running and squats grind clothing against the wound and can shear off new skin. A site behind the ear or on the neck is barely affected by activity but is easily disturbed by eyeglasses, collars, hairbrushing and sleeping on that side.

The graft itself is a separate matter. For facial grafts, teams typically ask patients to avoid bending, straining and heavy lifting for a period, because raised pressure in the head and neck can disturb the fragile new blood supply to the graft. Those restrictions are set by the surgeon based on the location and size of the graft, and they, rather than the donor site, usually dictate when you can return to work or the gym.

If in doubt about a specific activity, ask before rather than after. A quick message to the clinic costs nothing; a torn donor site costs another two weeks.

Leaking, itching, smell and color: what is normal at a donor site?

A donor site produces a surprising amount of fluid, and this alarms people more than almost anything else. In the first week it is common for the outer pad to be soaked with thin, pink or yellow serum. That is the wound doing its job. The fluid carries the proteins and cells needed for repair, and a moist dressing is exactly what the surface wants. Heavy soaking through multiple layers, or fluid that turns thick, green or foul-smelling, is different and should be reported.

A faint odor from a dressing that has been on for several days is common, particularly with sealed film dressings, which trap fluid deliberately. The smell usually clears once the dressing is changed. A strong, unpleasant smell that persists after a change is a warning sign.

Itching is almost universal from the second week onward and is often the most irritating part of the whole recovery. It happens because healing skin releases histamine and because the new epidermis lacks the oil glands that keep mature skin supple. Moisturizing once the surface has closed, keeping the area cool and loosely covered, and not scratching are the mainstays. Scratching tears new skin, so if the itch is intense, ask the team; there are approaches they can suggest.

Color changes are expected. The surface goes from raw red to glossy pink to a deeper red or purple as the new skin thickens, then fades over months. Small areas that stay raw longer than the rest, especially at the edges or where the shave was deepest, are common and usually fill in with time. Areas that look gray, black or dry and leathery are not part of normal healing and need review.

Bleeding is rare after the first day. Spotting when a dressing is changed can happen; a steadily bleeding site does not stop on its own and needs same-day attention.

What will the donor site look like long term, and how do I protect the scar?

Every donor site leaves a mark. How visible that mark becomes depends partly on genetics and skin tone, partly on the depth of the shave, and partly on what happens in the first year.

A healed split-thickness site typically becomes a flat patch that differs in color from its surroundings. In lighter skin it often ends up paler; in medium and darker skin it may heal darker, a change called post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation, which describes excess pigment produced by skin as it recovers from inflammation. Texture is usually slightly smoother and shinier than normal skin, because the regrown surface has fewer oil glands. A full-thickness site becomes a line scar, which is why surgeons tuck these into creases behind the ear or along the neck.

The single most effective thing you control is sun protection. New skin has little pigment protection, and ultraviolet exposure in the first year deepens redness and drives permanent darkening. Covering the site with clothing is most reliable; once the surface is fully closed and the team agrees, a broad-spectrum sunscreen can be applied over it. This applies as much to a thigh in summer shorts as to a graft on the face.

Moisturizing once the skin has closed keeps it supple and reduces itch and cracking. Gentle massage of a mature scar, once cleared by the team, is often suggested to soften firmness. Some people develop raised, thickened scars, called hypertrophic scars, or, less commonly, keloids, which grow beyond the original wound edge. People with darker skin and those with a personal or family history of keloids are at higher risk, and it is worth mentioning that history before surgery so the team can plan donor site location and follow-up accordingly.

Silicone gels and sheets are widely used for maturing scars; the evidence for them is moderate rather than conclusive, and whether they suit your situation is a question for your team.

What people often get wrong about skin graft donor site care

Some of the most common mistakes come from applying ordinary cut-and-scrape logic to a wound that behaves differently. A few corrections, each grounded in the wound-healing evidence summarized by sources such as MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic.

“It needs air to heal.” This is the most persistent myth in wound care. Dry, exposed wounds form scabs, and scabs slow the migration of new skin cells. A covered, moist donor site heals faster and more comfortably than an open one. Air does not heal wounds; blood supply and moisture do.

“The graft is the important wound.” Both matter. Donor sites are where most day-to-day problems arise, precisely because they are broad, raw and handled at home.

“I should clean it with antiseptic to be safe.” Strong antiseptics such as hydrogen peroxide or undiluted iodine damage the very cells trying to regrow. Plain water or saline is what most teams recommend, unless they have prescribed something specific.

“Antibiotic ointment is better than plain jelly.” Not for a clean, uninfected donor site. Topical antibiotics are a frequent cause of allergic reactions around surgical wounds and add nothing to healing when infection is absent.

“If the dressing is stuck, I should pull it off quickly.” Quick removal rips away new epidermis. Soak, wait, then lift.

“Leaking means infection.” Clear or straw-colored fluid in the first week is normal serum. Infection shows itself through thick discharge, spreading redness, heat, worsening pain and often fever.

“Once it’s pink it’s healed.” Pink means covered, not finished. The new surface stays fragile for weeks, and the scar keeps changing for a year. Sun protection and gentle handling continue long after the dressings stop.

Each of these errors is understandable, and each is avoidable once you know why the instructions say what they say.

Questions to ask your care team about your donor site

Consultations are short, and the donor site is often the last thing discussed. Arriving with a few specific questions makes the time count and gives you a plan you actually understand. Consider asking:

• Is my donor site split-thickness or full-thickness, and what does that mean for how it will heal?
• Where exactly will the skin be taken from, and is there a choice of location that would suit my lifestyle or clothing better?
• How long should the first dressing stay on, and who will change it: the clinic or me?
• Which dressing or ointment are you recommending, how often should it be changed, and what should I do if it sticks?
• What kind of fluid, color and smell are normal, and at what point should I be worried?
• When can I shower, bathe, swim and exercise, and are there movements I should avoid because of the graft rather than the donor site?
• What pain relief do you suggest, and which of my regular medicines should I discuss with the prescriber before surgery?
• If I smoke, have diabetes or take medicines that affect healing, how does that change the plan or the follow-up?
• How should I protect the area from the sun, and for how long?
• Do I have any risk factors for raised scarring, and what would you suggest if the scar starts to thicken?
• Who do I contact outside clinic hours if something changes, and what would make you want to see me the same day?

Write the answers down or ask for them in writing. Discharge sheets vary in detail, and the specific dressing and change schedule your surgeon prefers may not match a generic leaflet. If two members of the team give different advice, ask them to clarify rather than picking one; small inconsistencies about frequency or ointment are common and easily resolved when raised.

Finally, ask what the donor site is likely to look like at three months and at a year. An honest expectation set early prevents a lot of unnecessary worry later.

When to call your doctor about a skin graft donor site

Most donor sites heal without incident, and the majority of concerns turn out to be normal fluid, normal itch or normal color change. Some signs, however, warrant a prompt call to the surgical team or, when severe, urgent care. Guidance from MedlinePlus, Cleveland Clinic and the CDC’s information on surgical site infection points to the following.

Contact the team the same day if you notice:

• Redness that spreads outward from the wound edge, or skin around the site that feels hot and increasingly tender.
• Thick, cloudy, green or yellow discharge, or a foul smell that persists after a dressing change.
• Pain that gets worse after the first few days rather than easing, or new pain in a site that had settled.
• Fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell.
• Bleeding that soaks through the dressing or does not stop with gentle pressure.
• Areas of the wound turning gray, black or dry and leathery.
• A dressing that has come off completely and exposed the raw surface, if you have not been shown how to replace it.
• Any new rash, blistering or intense itching around the wound, which can indicate a reaction to a dressing or ointment.

Seek emergency care without delay for high fever with a rapidly spreading red area, confusion, fainting, or a fast heartbeat with a feeling of severe illness, since these can indicate a serious infection.

The same rules apply to the graft itself. If the bolster dressing over a facial graft becomes soaked, is knocked loose, or the surrounding skin becomes red and swollen, let the team know rather than waiting for the scheduled appointment.

When something worries you and it is not on this list, call anyway. Surgical teams would much rather review a normal wound than hear about a problem a week late. Every decision about dressings, medicines and next steps sits with the clinicians who know your wound; this article is a guide to the conversation, not a replacement for it.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take for a skin graft donor site to heal?

A thin split-thickness donor site typically grows a new skin surface within about one to three weeks, according to MedlinePlus and Cleveland Clinic patient guidance, though the new skin stays fragile for several more weeks. Thicker shaves, smoking, diabetes and older age lengthen this. A full-thickness donor site is stitched closed and usually has its stitches removed at around one to two weeks, with the scar maturing over months.

Why put Vaseline on skin grafts and donor sites?

Plain petroleum jelly keeps the wound surface moist, which lets new skin cells migrate faster than they can under a dry scab, and it stops dressings from sticking and tearing off fragile new skin. It contains no active ingredients or fragrance, so allergic reactions are rare. It does not treat infection or reduce scarring by itself, and it should be used only once your team has cleared you to touch the site.

How painful is the donor site of a skin graft?

For many people the donor site is more painful than the graft in the first two to three days, because a split-thickness shave exposes a wide area of dermis rich in nerve endings, much like a large deep graze. The pain usually eases markedly once new skin covers the surface, often within the first week to ten days, and is replaced by tightness and itching. Increasing pain after the early days should be reported.

How do I dress a skin graft donor site at home?

Leave the theatre dressing untouched until your team says otherwise. When changes are due, wash your hands, soak off any layer that has stuck, rinse gently with lukewarm water or saline, apply the ointment or contact layer you were given, and cover with a fresh absorbent pad secured loosely. Change frequency depends on the dressing type and how much fluid the wound produces, so follow your own team’s schedule.

Is skin graft donor site pain a sign something is wrong?

Early pain is expected and usually peaks in the first two to three days. Pain that improves and then worsens, pain spreading beyond the wound edge, or pain accompanied by heat, redness, thick discharge or fever is different and can indicate infection. In that case contact your surgical team the same day rather than increasing pain relief on your own.

What is the best donor site dressing after a skin graft?

Systematic reviews have not found one dressing that is clearly best on every measure, so surgeons choose based on wound size, fluid production and local experience. Most approaches share the same goals: keep the surface moist, avoid sticking, absorb excess fluid and minimize dressing changes. Sealed films, foams and non-adherent layers under absorbent pads are all common. The right choice is the one your team can support and monitor.

Can I shower with a skin graft donor site?

Usually yes once your team has cleared you, often after the first dressing change. Most guidance permits showering with the site covered by a waterproof layer, or briefly uncovered once skin has formed, followed by patting dry and reapplying the dressing. Baths, swimming and hot tubs are generally discouraged until the surface has fully healed because soaking softens new skin and pools bacteria against it.

Why is my donor site leaking so much fluid?

In the first week a donor site produces a lot of thin, pink or straw-colored fluid called serum, and soaked outer pads are normal. This fluid carries the proteins and cells needed for repair. What is not normal is fluid that becomes thick, cloudy, green or foul-smelling, or leaking that increases after the first week rather than tapering off. Those changes should be reported to your team.

Will the skin graft donor site scar?

Yes, every donor site leaves a mark. A split-thickness site becomes a flat patch that is usually paler or sometimes darker than surrounding skin, with a slightly smoother, shinier texture. A full-thickness site leaves a line scar, which is why surgeons place these in creases behind the ear or on the neck. Strict sun protection during the first year has the largest influence on the final color.

What can I do about itching at the donor site?

Itching is almost universal from the second week and happens because healing skin releases histamine and lacks the oil glands that keep mature skin supple. Once the surface has closed, gentle fragrance-free moisturizing, cool loose clothing and avoiding scratching help most. Scratching tears new skin and can reopen the wound. If the itch is severe or accompanied by a rash, ask your team, since a reaction to a dressing or ointment is possible.

References

• MedlinePlus: Skin graft
• MedlinePlus: Skin graft – discharge
• Cleveland Clinic: Skin Graft
• NHS: Plastic surgery

This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult a qualified doctor about your individual situation.