Autologous skin transplantation is a common method to treat skin defects caused by trauma, burns and other factors. Skin transplantation includes free skin graft using skin tissue alone and pedicled skin flap or skin tube transplantation using skin and subcutaneous tissue at the same time. Whether the transplanted skin can survive depends mainly on whether the transplanted skin and the recipient tissue have established effective blood circulation. Factors affecting the survival of skin flap or flap include wound infection, flap displacement, torsion compression of skin tube or flap pedicle or excessive fat in skin tube. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is helpful to the success of skin transplantation.

Principles of treatment

Under hyperbaric oxygen, the increase of oxygen partial pressure and oxygen reserve in tissue can enhance the growth vitality of skin tissue, promote the growth of granulation tissue, reduce wound exudation and bacterial infection, make the wound fresh and clean, and create good conditions for skin grafting.

Before the blood circulation between the transplanted flap and the recipient is established, the high partial pressure oxygen in the tissue can alleviate the continuous hypoxia caused by insufficient blood supply of the transplanted flap, which is beneficial to the survival of the transplanted flap.

The ability of cell division and proliferation is closely related to the partial pressure of oxygen in tissues. When the oxygen partial pressure of extracellular fluid is lower than 1.3kPa( 10mmHg), cells will not divide and collagen fibers will not be synthesized. Under hyperbaric oxygen, the partial pressure of oxygen around cells increases, cells are active, collagen and new capillaries are produced, which promotes the establishment of blood circulation. The blood circulation established between the transplanted skin and the recipient area provides sufficient blood and oxygen for the transplanted skin flap, thus improving the survival rate of the transplanted skin.