Plastic surgery used to be confined to a procedure called a skin graft, but newer techniques such as tissue expansion and flap surgery are often used these days.

A skin graft is a surgical procedure that removes healthy skin from an unaffected area of the body and covers the lost or damaged skin.

Skin grafts may be used for bone fractures that break the skin (open fractures), large wounds, surgical removal of an area of the skin (for example, due to cancer), burns and cleft lip and palates

There are Two Main Types of Skin Graft:

1. A Full Thickness Skin Graft – where the top layer of skin (epidermis) and all the layers of skin underneath (dermis) are removed and the area is closed with stitches; only a small area of skin will be removed, usually from the neck, behind the ear or the inner side of the upper arm

2. A Partial or Split Thickness Skin Graft – where the epidermis and a smaller part of the dermis are removed, and the area is left to heal without being closed by stitches; the skin is usually taken from the thigh, buttock or upper arm.

The skin graft will usually be held in place using stitches, staples, clips or special glue. The area will be covered with a sterile dressing until it has healed and has connected with the surrounding blood supply. This will usually take five to seven days. A dressing will also be placed over the area where the skin has been taken from (the donor site) to help protect it from infection. The donor area of partial thickness skin grafts will usually take about two weeks to heal. For full thickness skin grafts, the donor area takes about five days to heal.

After having a skin graft, it's common to feel more discomfort in the area that the skin was taken from rather than in the skin graft. Painkillers may be recommended to help ease any pain and discomfort.

Flap surgery – involves the transfer of a living piece of tissue from one part of the body to another, along with the blood vessels that keep it alive.

Flap surgery may be used for a variety of reasons, including breast reconstruction, open fractures, large wounds and improving cleft lip and palates.

In most cases, the skin remains partially attached to the body, creating a 'flap'. The flap is then repositioned and stitched over the damaged area.