Exploring the emerging role of Meek micrografting in healing smaller burns: a case series and evidence review

Abstract

Aim: Deep dermal and full-thickness burns typically require reconstruction with split-thickness skin grafting, usually following a traditional Tanner mesh technique. An alternate is the modified Meek technique, which has the benefit of reducing the required donor site size. The study presents our experience with the modified Meek technique over thirteen years, involving 64 patients with varying total body surface area (TBSA) sizes, aiming to evaluate outcomes including length of stay, time to heal, and patient and observer scar assessment scale (POSAS) scores. Additionally, we conducted a review of the current literature.

Methods: Patients who underwent skin grafting using the modified Meek technique at the Adult Burns Centre at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital between 2011 and 2024 were identified retrospectively using theatre logs. A dual-investigator literature review was carried out using Ovid and PubMed.

Results: The mean length of stay was 64 days, with a mortality rate of 4.6%. The mean time to achieve 95% healing was 76 days. The median POSAS score was 5. The literature search identified 27 relevant papers for analysis.

Conclusion: The modified Meek technique results in smaller donor sites, and safely and effectively heals a wound in a more timely way using the same expansion ratio as conventional meshed grafts. Areas for ongoing future research from our review include the use of Meek for smaller TBSA injuries and its potential combination with dermal templates.

Keywords

Meek micrografting / modified Meek technique / burns / dermal templates

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