Skin Graft on the Knee: What to Know

The knee bends, straightens, and experiences friction from clothing and movement. A graft over or near the joint may therefore need a carefully timed balance between protection and rehabilitation. Early tightness, tenderness, swelling, or reduced movement can occur after surgery. The grafted site and donor site heal separately, and the original wound, circulation, general health, and prescribed brace can affect the plan. Your surgeon or therapist can explain whether the graft crosses the moving crease and what range of movement is allowed.

Follow instructions for dressings, braces, elevation, walking, and exercises. Do not force the knee through a stretch, kneel on the graft, or let clothing rub the wound. Keep the site dry and avoid unapproved creams or massage until the team permits them. Attend dressing changes and therapy appointments, because the team can adjust protection as the surface heals. Once fully closed, ask whether scar care or fractional laser treatment is suitable for persistent texture or stiffness.

Report increasing pain, spreading redness, warmth, pus, bad odour, fever, wound opening, a loose graft, or bleeding that does not settle. Sudden calf swelling or pain, chest pain, or breathlessness after reduced mobility requires urgent medical help. A rapidly worsening knee swelling or inability to move as instructed also warrants prompt assessment.

Ask when bending and straightening should begin, whether a brace is needed, how much walking is allowed, and how to protect the graft during therapy. Ask how to care for the donor site and which symptoms mean the exercise plan should pause.