Tilapia Skin Graft Before and After: What to Expect

Before treatment, the wound may be open, raw, burned, or difficult to close. The graft material is placed over the prepared area as a biological covering. It can look pale, moist, or layered at first. As the wound improves, the covering may dry, loosen, or be replaced during dressing care while healthier tissue appears beneath it.

The final appearance depends on the original injury, wound depth, location, infection control, and how your skin heals. Colour, texture, tenderness, and scar visibility can continue to change after the surface has closed.

Keep the dressing exactly as directed and avoid pulling at material that is still attached. Protect the area from friction, soaking, and unapproved creams. Wash your hands before touching nearby skin, take prescribed medicines as instructed, and attend scheduled dressing changes so the wound can be checked.

A clinician may later discuss scar care or another treatment once the wound is stable. Read more about [Skin Graft](/treatments/surgical-dermatology/skin-graft/) and, when appropriate for a scar rather than an open wound, [Fractional Laser Treatment](/treatments/laser-and-energy/fractional-laser-treatment/).

Contact your treating team promptly for worsening pain, spreading redness, increasing warmth, pus, bad odour, fever, bleeding that does not settle, or a dressing that becomes soaked. Seek urgent help for rapidly worsening swelling, severe illness, or trouble breathing. Do not wait for a planned appointment if the wound suddenly looks significantly different.

Ask what the graft and dressing should look like, when the next change is due, which activities may disturb it, how the donor or treated area should be cleaned, and when scar treatment can be considered.