Doctors have developed a technique to treat severe burns using a paste made from small pieces of a patient’s skin.
The procedure involves taking a small, healthy piece of skin from the thigh, cutting it into small pieces and mixing it with a gel. The resulting paste is then applied to the wound.
The results showed that each tiny fragment can grow up to 500 times its original size, allowing a significantly smaller amount of healthy skin to be transplanted than is currently removed to cover burns.
Experts say that by using the skin paste, patients can avoid the permanent scars typical of traditional methods as well as the painful experience of large skin grafts.
“Removing the skin can be extremely painful for the patient. “It looks like the worst carpet burn you’ve ever had,” says Dr. Riyam Mistry, plastic surgery expert at the University of Oxford.
The results showed that each tiny fragment could grow up to 500 times its original size, allowing a significantly smaller amount of healthy skin to be transplanted than is currently removed to cover burns.
READ MORE: KATIE PIPER reveals groundbreaking NHS skin graft she received after acid attack
Around 1,000 Britons with severe burns undergo skin grafting every year, a quarter of whom are children. It involves removing a piece of healthy skin and stretching it over the burned area before sewing or gluing it together.
For large burns, the spots ingested can be very large and usually require general anesthesia to remove. It is often shaved on the back of the thigh and can leave a permanent scar.
However, some experts believe the skin paste technique could mean the end of this practice. Together with scientists from the US Army Institute of Surgical Research in Texas, Dr. Spray the skin with normal transplantation in pigs.
A piece of skin is “chopped” into pieces only a third of a millimeter in diameter.
A water-based gel was then added to hydrate the cells before injection into the burn.
Within 28 days, the area treated with the paste healed as quickly as normal grafts.
DR Mistry says he is satisfied with the results and a human trial is planned. He adds, “This maximizes the use of a small amount of healthy skin while minimizing damage to the donor site.”
The research he and his colleagues conducted will be presented this week at the annual meeting of the British Society of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons in Newcastle upon Tyne.
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Crystal Leahy is an author and health journalist who writes for The Fashion Vibes. With a background in health and wellness, Crystal has a passion for helping people live their best lives through healthy habits and lifestyles.
