A dermatome is a

surgical instrument A surgical instrument is a tool or device for performing specific actions or carrying out desired effects during a surgery or operation, such as modifying biological tissue, or to provide access for viewing it. Over time, many different kinds of ...

for producing thin slices of

skin Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation. Other animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have different de ...

from a donor area, for use in

skin graft Skin grafting, a type of graft surgery, involves the transplantation of skin. The transplanted tissue is called a skin graft. Surgeons may use skin grafting to treat: * extensive wounding or trauma * burns * areas of extensive skin loss du ...

s. One of its main applications is for reconstituting skin areas damaged by grade 3 burns or

trauma Trauma most often refers to: * Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source * Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event *Traumatic i ...

. Dermatomes can be operated either manually or electrically. The first drum dermatomes, developed in the 1930s, were manually operated. Afterwards, dermatomes which were operated by air pressure, such as the Brown dermatome, achieved higher speed and precision. Electrical dermatomes are better for cutting out thinner and longer strips of skin with a more homogeneous thickness.

Free-hand knives

Those are manual dermatomes and the term ''knife'' or ''scalpel'' is used to describe them. Their disadvantages are harvesting of grafts with irregular edges and grafts of variable thickness. Their operator has to be experienced in their use for optimal results.

Types

There are several types of dermatomes, usually named after their inventor.

Knives

* Blair/Brown knife * Humby knife: similar to the Blair knife with the addition of an adjustable roller which controls the thickness of the graft taken. * Braithwaite knife * Watson knife, a modified version of the Braithwaite knife * Cobbett knife, a modified version of the Braithwaite knife * Goulian/Weck knife * Silver knife, for the harvesting of small grafts

Drums

* Padgett dermatome: It was the first rotary drum manual dermatome. * Reese dermatome

Electric dermatomes

* Brown dermatome, the first with powered rotation to be developed, used mostly for large skin grafts. It is electrically operated. * Castroviejo dermatome, also electrically operated, is a precision dermatome with a small head and controllable thickness, which is most used for

mucous membrane A mucous membrane or mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body of an organism and covers the surface of internal organs. It consists of one or more layers of epithelial cells overlying a layer of loose connective tissue. It i ...

grafts.

Air dermatomes

* The air dermatome is the presently most commonly used dermatome worldwide, used mostly for large skin grafts."Tiny Air Turbines Drive Surgical Instruments.."
''Popular Science'', September 1966, pp. 82-83.

References

{{Surgical instruments Surgical instruments Plastic surgery Dermatologic procedures