Contraction rates of meshed, nonexpanded split-thickness skin grafts versus split-thickness sheet grafts.

Contraction rates of wounds covered by meshed, nonexpanded split-thickness skin grafts were compared with split-thickness sheet-grafted wounds in a porcine model. No significant difference was found in wound contraction. When compared with previous studies, this study shows that differences in contraction previously observed were not a result of meshing and suggests that expansion may be the cause of the difference previously observed.