USE OF THROMBIN AND FIBRINOGEN IN SKIN GRAFTING

Abstract

The importance of skin grafting in military reconstructive surgery cannot be overestimated. Improvements in technic of grafting must be sought for constantly and particularly improvements which will shorten operative time and increase percentage of takes. The possibility of such an improvement using thrombin and fibrinogen arose from the observations of Dr. M. E. Sano of Temple University School of Medicine, who used heparinized plasma and pressure as an adhesive for grafts.¹ Thrombin and fibrinogen have both been known for many years, as has the reaction between them, namely the capacity of the former to transform the latter into insoluble fibrin. It is said to be this reaction which is responsible for blood coagulation. A main deterrent to the exploration of the medical and surgical potentialities of these materials had been the difficulty and expensiveness of their preparation. This has been circumvented in recent years by the work of Seegers