OBJECTIVES: It is estimated that approximately 3,500 per 1 million people are living with a wound, of which 525 per 1 million people suffer from a chronic wound, which lasts at least 1 year. The standard of care for wound coverage is to use an autologous skin graft, but large and or chronic wounds pose a challenging problem. Innovative developments in micrografting technologies such as autologous micrografting provide a minimally invasive alternative to traditional meshed skin grafting for wound coverage.

METHODS: This retrospective data analysis was based on German hospital data from the Institute for the Hospital Remuneration System (InEK) of the years 2019-2023. Meek micrografting procedures were identified by operation and procedure key (OPS) code 5-925.7*. Localizations of treatment were identified by OPS 6-digit codes.

RESULTS: Between 2019-2023 n=647 hospitalized patients received at least one Meek micrografting procedure. Of these, 41% patients were 60+ years old and 65% were male. Noteworthy, 2.5% of patients were <10 years and 3.9% were <16 years young. The number of patients receiving such procedure increased 2,7-times from 2019 (n=69) to 2023 (n=185). Most treated localizations with Meek micrografting were thighs and knees (13.1%), followed by upper arm and elbow (11.4%) and lower leg (11.2%). Least treated localization was hairy scalp (0.3%). On average, patients received 1.2 applications of meek micrografting during their hospitalization. Weighted average length of stay was 44.7 days (2019-2023). Arithmetic mean length of stay decreased by 8.8 (95%CI: -0.4, 18.0) days from 49.7 (±31.8) days in 2019 to 40.9 (±36.5) days in 2023.

CONCLUSIONS: Autologous micrografting may provide the starting signal for faster endogenous wound healing response. The increased usage of meek micrografting procedures in the inpatient setting in Germany might prompt the implementation of innovate technologies in wound management.