TissueDB/Simulators/Skin Graft Harvesting Simulator (Cohen)
General Information
The Cohen Skin Graft Harvesting Simulator uses a pomelo fruit (Citrus Maxima) as a low-cost, readily available model for practising manual partial-thickness skin graft harvesting.[1]
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| General Information | Cohen et al. (2020) use a whole pomelo (Citrus Maxima) as a low-cost substrate for practising manual partial-thickness skin-graft harvesting with a Humby (Watson) dermatome. The fruit's tri-layered pericarp — exocarp, mesocarp and endocarp — mimics the layered structure of human integument, and trainees harvest sequential grafts from the peel to build harvesting consistency. Source: Cohen et al., Burns 2020;46(7):1681–1685.[1] |
| Features and Basic Operation | The whole pomelo serves as the donor site: the trainee marks a donor area, then harvests partial-thickness grafts from the peel with a manual dermatome, mimicking operative skin-graft harvest.[1] |
| Current Development Status | Built and tested in a single-centre study; not externally validated.[1] |
| Estimated Build Time and Cost | No construction step; the model is a whole pomelo, ~USD 3–5 per pomelo. |
| Specialized Tools and Equipment | Manual dermatome — a Humby's (Watson) knife, set to its widest blade–roller gap (the pomelo epicarp is often over 2 mm thick).[1] |
| Version | Not stated in source |
| Development Team Contact Information | Cohen et al., Department of Plastic Surgery and Burns, Rabin Medical Center (Beilinson Hospital), Petah Tikva, Israel.[1] |
Tissues
| Tissue | Qty | Material | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue | 1 fruit | Pomelo peel (Citrus Maxima) | ~$3–5 | Tri-layered pericarp (exocarp, mesocarp, endocarp) mimics human integument; skin thickness 10–20 mm[1] |
Build Instructions
Phase 1: Fruit Preparation
- Obtain a whole pomelo (Citrus Maxima). Other large citrus fruit — a grapefruit or large orange — may substitute if a pomelo is unavailable.[1]
- Mark the intended donor area on the pomelo surface.[1]
- Set the Humby (Watson) manual dermatome to the widest gap between blade and roller (the pomelo epicarp is often over 2 mm thick).[1]
- Harvest partial-thickness grafts by drawing the dermatome across the marked area with steady, even pressure. Each trainee harvests 4 sequential strips, which are compared for harvesting consistency.[1]
Verification checkpoint: Confirm that each harvested strip is a thin partial-thickness graft rather than a full-depth cut through the peel, and compare the area of successive strips — the study compared graft area across the four strips as its measure of harvesting consistency.[1]
Not Suitable For
- Donor-site bleeding management — the paper notes the pomelo offers no hemorrhage and "does not accurately mimic the circumstances of the operating theatre."[1]
- Objective graft-thickness assessment — the authors note citrus-rind grafts are difficult to evaluate for thickness consistency, an inherent limitation of a very thick-skinned model.[1]
References
| Authors | Arturopelayo |
|---|---|
| License | CC-BY-SA-4.0 |
| Cite as | Arturopelayo (2026). "TissueDB/Simulators/Skin Graft Harvesting Simulator (Cohen)". Appropedia. Retrieved June 4, 2026. |