Transplant Surgery: Skin 1. a) Skin is flat and covers our whole body. There are 3 layers of skin – the top section is called the epidermis, the middle is the dermis and the bottom is the hypodermis. The epidermis is the layer we see. This contains cells that give skin their colour, help the immune system and give it strength. The Dermis provides strength, flexibility and support. The hypodermis contains the start of sweat glands and hair. The fat distribution gives people their shape. Skin protects us from UV rays and injury, it acts as a sense, helps regulate temperature, keeps in water and produces vitamin D. b) The reason people get skin transplants or skin grafts is mainly because of burns. If the burn is severe enough it won’t be able …show more content…
People link personalities to facial structure, and if they have a new face, the patient and their friends would feel as if they have to act a different way. Another issue is who decides whether or not to do it. Usually the patient decides, however if they’re unable to, who then? Out of the surgeon and the family, who decides, and what will the consequences be if they make the wrong decision? What if the patient didn’t want a skin transplant and now has to live with the consequences, or they did want one and now they are more injured; even dead? This issue also has a lot to do with ethics because it’s a matter of life and death. You could save someone’s life, or put an unnecessary burden on it if you get a skin transplant and realise they didn’t need it. A third issue is that the side effects may be harsh, and if unsuccessful, could kill the patient. There’re many things to consider with this. If transplanting from other peoples skin, the skin types need to match. They need to do everything correctly, because even the slightest mistake has harsh consequences. Even if it is performed correctly, there can be unpredictable outcomes, or side effects, that can …show more content…
It can save someone; a matter of life and death. If someone was badly burnt from a fire, and the only way to save them was to have a skin transplant, other people could donate skin because their skin grows back automatically. Human skin can grow back, so it’s renewable. If someone needed the skin, others could give it to them without losing their own; unlike other organs like kidneys, skin grows back. It may be a little difficult to match the skin type if the skin is from somebody else, but it isn’t impossible. People with certain types of diabetes need skin grafts to help pressure ulcers in their feet. Although accidents can happen, it’s very unlikely as skin grafts have been done many times before, and skin transplants don’t show much of a risk, however accidents are possible and doctors are trying to reduce the already minimal risk. Most of the time the patient is awake and is able to make the decision of whether they want the transplant or not, and even if they are unable to make the decision, usually a skin transplant is recommended – especially in matters of life and death. Skin transplants and grafts are only used when the ulcers have too little skin to close on their own, to allow the skin to heal itself. The biggest problem is face transplants – it’s like you change your personality when you change your face. I think skin transplants should be done, however face transplants are debatable (in a case of life and death, I