some form of splint should be added to prevent movement.

A dressing may be dispensed with altogether, the grafts being protected
by a wire cage such as is used after vaccination, but they tend to dry
up and come to resemble a scab.

When the grafts have healed, it is well to protect them from injury and
to prevent them drying up and cracking by the liberal application of
lanoline or vaseline.

The new skin is at first insensitive and is fixed to the underlying
connective tissue or bone, but in course of time (from six weeks
onwards) sensation returns and the formation of elastic tissue beneath
renders the skin pliant and movable so that it can be pinched up between
the finger and thumb.

_Reverdin's_ method consists in planting out pieces of skin not bigger
than a pin-head over a granulating surface. It is seldom employed.

_Grafts of the Cutis Vera._--Grafts consisting of the entire thickness
of the true skin were specially advocated by Wolff and are often
associated with his name. They should be cut oval or spindle-shaped, to
facilitate the approximation of the edges of the resulting wound. The
graft should be cut to the exact size of the surface it is to cover;
Gillies believes that tension of the graft favours its taking. These
grafts may be placed either on a fresh raw surface or on healthy
granulations. It is sometimes an advantage to stitch them in position,
especially on the face. The dressing and the after-treatment are the
same as in epidermis grafting.

There is a degree of uncertainty about the graft retaining its vitality
long enough to permit of its deriving the necessary nourishment from its
new surroundings; in a certain number of cases the flap dies and is
thrown off as a slough--moist or dry according to the presence or
absence of septic infection.

The technique for cutis-grafting must be without a flaw, and the asepsis
absolute; there must not only be a complete absence of movement, but
there must be no traction on the flap that will endanger its blood
supply.

Owing to the uncertainty in the results of cutis-grafting the
_two-stage_ or _indirect method_ has been introduced, and its almost
uniform success has led to its sphere of application being widely
extended. The flap is raised as in the direct method but is left
attached at one of its margins for a period ranging from 14 to 21 days
until its blood supply from its new bed is assured; the detachment is
then made complete. The blood sup