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Page 4 of 13 Wilson et al. Plast Aesthet Res. 2025;12:8 https://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2024.135

Figure 1. Literature search diagram.

Operative data
The median number of procedures per patient was 2 (IQR 2,7). The median number of Meek procedures
was 1 (IQR 1,2). The median time to the first Meek graft was 10 days (IQR 7,24). Prior to first Meek
autograft, patients were medically optimised and usually underwent tangential excision with temporization
of the burn with allograft, to prepare the wound bed for optimal graft take. During the first Meek procedure,
the median grafted area was 11% (IQR 7.5,18.0), and 22% of patients received a combination of Meek and
meshed grafts during their first autografting. In 27% of cases, the donor site was over-grafted. Overall, 78%
of the cohort received both micrografts and mesh grafts during their admission.

Postoperative outcomes
The median time to achieve 95% wound healing was 76 days (IQR 41-133). The mean length of hospital stay
was 64 days. The overall mortality rate was 4.6%.

Functional and aesthetic outcomes
At one year post-procedure, the median POSAS score was 5 (IQR 4-6), based on data from 13 patients. As
POSAS data were collected only in the second half of this study, only these 13 patients were included in this
analysis, all of whom had a TBSA < 20%.

Meek technique in smaller burns (< 20% TBSA)
As earlier stated, the total study population was labeled Series A. This group was further divided into two
cohorts: (1) Burns < 20% (Series B) and (2) Burns ≥ 20% (Series C). A total of 28 patients with a median age
of 71 years (IQR 53,77) were treated with Meek micrografting for burns covering < 20% TBSA (Series B).
Series C included 36 patients. Among series B patients, 14 were aged 70 years or above, 13 were adults under