In medicine, grafting is a surgical procedure to transplant tissue without a blood supply. The implanted tissue must obtain a blood supply from the new vascular bed or otherwise die.

Types of grafting

The term is most commonly applied to skin grafting, however many tissues can be grafted: skin, bone, nerves, tendons, neurons, and cornea are the tissue commonly grafted today.

Skin grafting

Skin grafting is often used to treat skin loss due to a wound, burn, infection, or surgery. In the case of damaged skin, it is removed, and new skin is grafted in its place. Skin grafting can reduce the course of treatment and hospitalization needed, and can also improve function and appearance.

Graft Phases:
1. Adherence - fibrin bonds form immediatly on applying a skin graft on a suitable reciepient bed
2. Serum Inhibition - skin graft swells in the first 2-4 days
3. Revascularization - vessel ingrowth into the skin begins on about the 4th day and may be via i) Inosculation ii) Revascularisation iii) Neovascularisation
4. Remodelling - histological architecture returns to normal

Bone grafting

Bone grafting is used in dental implants, as well as other instances. The bone may be autologous, typically harvested from the iliac crest of the pelvis, or banked bone.

Reasons for Failure

Common reasons for graft failures include:
1. Haematoma development - the graft is placed on an active bleed
2. Infection
3. Seroma development - collection of fluid
4. Shear - force distrubting connections
5. Inappropriate bed - e.g. cartilage, tendons, bone

pt:Enxerto médico