V-carriers

Humeca introduces a new range of grooved skin graft carriers for expansion and perforation called ‘V-carriers’.

The symmetrical V-shaped groove pattern of these carriers prevents unwanted sideward movement of the carrier in the mesher during cutting. The standard length of these carriers is 280mm (11,0 inches), which is more than the standard length of existing carriers. Furthermore care has been taken to ensure that the groove pattern of a carrier connects exactly to that of another one. This enables cutting of extra long graft strips without any disturbance of the mesh pattern in the graft.

All V-carriers are compatible with the newly developed Humeca skin graft mesher. V10-type carriers are also compatible with Zimmer meshers and V15-type carriers are compatible with Aesculap /B.Braun meshers.

V-carriers are available for expansions 1:1.5 and 1:3, used for conventional skin meshing, where the expansion of the graft surface is the main goal.

For larger expansion ratios Humeca developed the modified MEEK technique, described elsewhere in this brochure. Especially in severe burns (large total burned surface area) the MEEK technique should be the method of choice because of faster epithelialization, more efficient use of skin (better graft take and smaller donorsites), easier handling of the graft and better final results.

In addition to the V-carriers for expansion, Humeca introduces a new type of a meshgraft carrier that only perforates the graft without the intention of expanding it: the 1:1 V-carrier. Perforations in a graft are intended to achieve sufficient drainage of the wound bed in case full sheet grafts are used, in order to prevent the occurrence of seroma or haematoma under the graft. Full sheet grafts are frequently applied when skin grafting is required in cosmetically sensitive body parts, such as the face, the neck and the dorsal aspect of the hands, in order to avoid the appearance of an unaesthetic mesh pattern.

The development of the Humeca V-carriers of skin grafting was sponsored by the Dutch Burns Research Institute (BRI) in Beverwijk, The Netherlands.

The 1:1 perforation V-carrier was developed and clinically tested in cooperation with the burn centre of the University Hospital of Gent, Belgium.