A REVIEW of the medical literature reveals few reports of studies concerning the recovery of sensation in skin grafts. All agree that, under favorable conditions of growth recovery of sensation in pedicle skin grafts begins at the periphery in the region of the proximal nerve supply and spreads distally. There is a temporal dissociation in the appearance of recovery. Pain sensation appears in three to six months and usually goes on to completion within a year. Touch returns in nine to twelve months, and temperature discrimination lags behind. Adequate recovery of sensation in a pedicle graft usually is followed by recovery of sympathetic innervation.
Review of the reports of studies dealing with recovery of sensation in split thickness skin grafts reveals that there are two opinions, diametrically opposed. Prior to McCarrol's1 report, recovery of sensation in split thickness grafts is described as patchy and incomplete and the rate of