Fixation of full thickness skin grafts by suture takes a long operative time. The development of tissue adhesives became an alternative for conventional suture. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of octyl-2-cyanocrylate in graft integration, compared to conventional suture in full thickness skin grafting. Two 1 cm² skin grafts were obtained billaterally from the back of 9 male rats, and then fixated over the defect, with nylon 4.0 suture in the left side( SC group ) and octyl-2-cyanocrylate ( AT group ) in the right side. Clinical and histologic aspects of graft integration were analised in 7º and 14º postoperative day. Sens-a Ray software was used to compare the results. Results revealed better graft integration in AT group (80%) than SC group (44%), with 11,1% of total graft loss in AT group and 33,3% in SC group. The mean time for fixation was 23 seconds in AT group and 4 minutes in SC group. It was showed a better graft integration and a faster fixation time in AT group.
tissue adhesives; Cyanocrilates; Skin transplantation; Rats