Skin diversity: Histological study of 140 skin residues, adapted to plastic surgery

We present in this original article a histological study of surgical skin residues. Aim of the study. - This study was realized in order to show, in objective way, skin diversity according to sex, age and area, and to illustrate some current surgical practices of our speciality. Patients and method. - Two years along, 141 patients was selected, 69 Men and 72 women. Fifty-four biopsies were realized on the upper extremity, 34 on the trunk and 53 on legs and arms. The histological study was based on two steps; the first one was a classic quantitative study, with measurement of each cutaneous layer, and objective evaluation of elastic density in superficial dermis. The second one was a descriptive histological analysis of each cutaneous area. Results. - The results coming from the quantitative analysis, allowed us to establish a classification of all the areas, according to each parameter. These results are globally compliant to the literature. The results of the descriptive analysis, lead us to conclude that it exists a lot of different skins with regional specificities. Then the crossover of the two analyses allowed us to define good practices tricks, in order to choose the best reconstruction technique for each area. Conclusion. - This study is just a rough draft of a dynamic skin cartography adapted to our surgery. But it allowed us to confirm our basic premise: it doesn't exist only one skin but many skins. (C) 2012 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.