Degloving injuries. A retrospective study at the University Hospital Rotterdam.

Degloving injuries are severe and frequently underestimated lesions. In a retrospective study, 65 patients treated between 1985 and 1991 were reviewed. Therapy consisted of surgical exploration as soon after injury as possible, with defatting of the avulsed skin and its replacement on the most functionally important sites. The remaining raw areas were covered with split skin grafts (SSG). This technique reduced morbidity, hospital stay and work incapacity, as compared with patients treated by other methods.