A new silicone rubber dressing used as a temporary dressing before delayed split skin grafting. A prospective randomised study.

In cases of split skin grafting after wide local excision of malignant melanoma or other tumours, the graft is often delayed for one or two days to reduce bleeding underneath it. Paraffin gauze and an absorbent dressing may be used as a temporary dressing before the application of the skin graft. Paraffin gauze, however, has the disadvantage that it often adheres to the wound bed making removal time-consuming and causing pain and bleeding. A new, fine-mesh polyamide netting covered with silicone (Mepitel, Mölnlycke) was therefore tested in a randomised prospective study with paraffin gauze as the control. There were significant differences between the two groups in terms of the adherence of the dressing, the time needed to remove the dressing, pain, and bleeding. Mepitel was superior to paraffin gauze because it adhered less to the wound bed, the time needed to remove the dressing was shorter, and it caused less pain and less bleeding.