The "Skin-Gun" (Giant Medical Leap!)

[3113]

New medical technology in helping burn victims! I actually can't watch the video because I can't stomaching seeing even pictures of burns, but, evidently, this is some pretty amazing new medical leap right out of Star Trek. Someone with 3-degree burns can be healed in something like 4 days!

 

[stephen55]

In medicine, one study seldom proves or disproves anything.

With burns, as with most problems in medicine, think of them as being mild, moderate or severe. Or, if you're a plastic surgeon, think of them as partial thickness or full thickness. As always, the devil is in the details. (Just how thick is this burn?)

The National Geographic video does not show someone with a third degree burn (now called a full thickness burn). It shows a fellow with typical flash burns, from intense heat that lasted only seconds. Thus, partial thickness burns, and not all that deep at that. (Epidermis burned and blistered with healthy, pink dermis underneath.) To a plastic surgeon...Let the resident handle it.


It's the deeper, partial thickness burns and the full thickness burns that give plastic surgeons nightmares and the patients both nightmares and a long stay in the hospital.

Spraying healthy skin cells harvested from the patient's intact skin is very likely going to be a significant improvement in the treatment of the less severe partial thickness burns, but these burns don't need skin grafting in the first place. It's the ones that do require grafting where the place of this new treatment needs to be sorted out.

 

[JackLuis]

Wow. Sounds like it ought be useful if it can heal burns in a few days.

Yea Science!

 

[TE999]

Having sustained a few nasty burns in my life...partial thickness, fortunately...this treatment looks pretty darn ingenious.

 

[Zeb_Carter]

I think that was just one segment of a longer story on the gun. I don't get the National Geographic Channel so I can't really say.

Yes one patient does not make a miracle solution, but it gives hope to the medical professionals who deal with burn patients. And while second degree burns are not the worse, they are seriously more painful than a sunburn.

3, the vid wasn't that horrible, honest. Just a look at what a second degree burn is and a current victim healing the "old fashion" way.

I do agree burns are not pretty and hurt like no other pain you have ever had, this procedure may well be standard practice in the next five to six years. Possibly, save the victim pain and disfigurement or at least lessening both.

 

[Boota]

It said, in the video I watched on another site, that 12 people had been treated successfully. No mention of any unsuccessful treatments. What I was thinking in the case of skingrafting is whether this skin gun might aid in the healing of that as well. Not in place of, but in concert with.

 

[jomar]

That's very cool even if only appropriate for certain types of burns.