Meek Micrograft

Every doctor will admit, burn wound treatment involves multiple challenges. There is a great risk of infections and poor epithelialization and the lack of auto graft donor sites is a limiting factor in achieving wound closure in cases of extensive skin defects.

Current mesh graft techniques cannot meet the requirements which are needed to treat a patient in the best way. Therefore, in cooperation with surgeons of the burn center of the Red Cross Hospital Beverwijk, The Netherlands, Humeca re-designed and modernized the MEEK technique. Originally, the MEEK technique was described by Mr. Cicero Parker Meek from the University of South Carolina Aiken (USCA), USA in 1958. However, this original technique required too much skill and it became eclipsed by the introduction of mesh skin grafts by Tanner et al. in 1964 and was eventually discontinued. In the early 1990’s two surgeons from the Red Cross Hospital, Beverwijk, in The Netherlands approached Humeca and asked for help in re-introducing a modified meek technique.

After much engineering and re-design the modified meek technique was finalized and released in 1993. Since then, the modernized MEEK technique has been sold to burn centers worldwide and there have been numerous publications written supporting its use.

Our unique MEEK technique is reported to be superior to other grafting methods. Imperfections of the original method were overcome and the prefolded gauzes are now manufactured with expansion ratios 1:3, 1:4, 1:6 and 1:9. The clinical results are excellent, even in problematic zones and in case of inferior wound beds. The method appears to be a simple technique to achieve a regular distribution of postage stamp grafts, correctly orientated to the surface of the wound