Wound Care Made Incredibly Easy

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Medical adhesive–related skin injuries

Skin Tear Classification

Type 1: No Skin Loss

Type 2: Partial Flap Loss

Type 3: Total Flap Loss

Linear or Flap* Tear which can be repositioned to cover the wound bed

Partial Flap Loss which cannot be repositioned to cover the wound bed

Total Flap Loss exposing entire wound bed

*A flap in skin tears is defined as a portion of the skin (epidermis/dermis) that is unintentionally separated from its original place due to shear, friction, and/or blunt force. This concept is not to be confused with tissue that is intentionally detached from its place of origin for therapeutic use e.g. surgical skin grafting.

International Skin Tear Classification System. https://www.skintears.org/

According to ISTAP, this is a type 2 skin tear. The partial flap remaining was reposi tioned to serve as a skin graft and speed heal ing. No adhesive fixation strips were used to secure the flap due to the fragile nature of the skin. A long nonadherent pad was covered in petrolatum-based ointment and secured over the area using tubular dressing retention netting.

Medical adhesive–related skin injuries

A medical adhesive is any product meant to help a medical device stick to the skin: adhesive tape, ostomy skin barriers, dressings with adhesive edges, and electrodes. Many may think the “rip the Band-Aid off quickly” technique makes removal hurt less, but this approach can be harmful to anyone with compromised skin. This includes very young children, older adults, and anyone with fragile skin. This method can lead to medical adhesive–related skin inju ries (MARSIs).

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