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Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

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Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#51
post #17

I thought this a pretty mature technique? I have seen more than once our local vet using this technique to treat cats with large wounds -- with great results by the way. Interestingly, they too used tilapia fish skin, and not any of the more common local fish species. I wonder if there is something special about tilapia fish skin, or it was simply the species on which the technique was developed, and nobody bothered…

It's probably a mix of "this species happens to be unusually well-suited" and "this is the species people bothered to study rigorously first."

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#52

In Chinese villages, I've seen them use fish skin, potato skin, various leaves, cooked birds nest, fish fin oil, and etc to treat open wounds instead of pure bandaging. While it's not a new technique, it's fascinating for this area to be further explored.

In a way this feels less like inventing something new and more like rediscovering and formalizing old techniques with modern safety constraints

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#53

I've read Dune - I know exactly where this is going. Please do not apply sand trout directly to you skin unless you are ready to control the spice.

The God Emperor of Brazil would be a brilliant satire. I look forward to the new fish speakers.

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#55
post #17

I thought this a pretty mature technique? I have seen more than once our local vet using this technique to treat cats with large wounds -- with great results by the way. Interestingly, they too used tilapia fish skin, and not any of the more common local fish species. I wonder if there is something special about tilapia fish skin, or it was simply the species on which the technique was developed, and nobody bothered…

Tilapia are cheap and abundant, and the skin is an industrial-scale waste product.

They're incredibly hardy, and unlike most other food fish you can easily grow them in simple container setups.

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#58
In my hospital we have ample experience with another technique using polypropylene sheets for defect coverage, popularized in Brazil orthopedics as "Figueiredo's technique", which is in practice an extension of common techinques for temporary closure of abdominal wall ("Bogota's bag").

We put a transparent polypropylene sheet as skin replacement, suture it directly to the skin. We can monitor the wound and its secretions, can cover exposed tendons and bones without immediate doing microsurgical flaps. For example, we can monitor the second intention skin closure with reduced infection and analgesics use, sometimes without needing a graft at all.

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#59
post #41

Will never be approved by the US FDA since it can't be patented.

Kerecis got FDA clearance in 2013 , and then approval in 2016 .

That's made from cod, and it appears they chemically modified it so that it can be patented https://www.kerecis.com/kerecis-receives-u-s-patent-for-fish...

Re: Doctors in Brazil using tilapia fish skin to treat burn victims (2017)

#60
post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tilapia imports are heavily restricted to Australia, The live fish will not be allowed, they are considered "restricted noxious fish". The rules are: Illegal to Keep: You cannot keep tilapia (dead or alive), sell them, give them away, or use them as bait. Immediate Euthanasia: Humanely kill the fish as soon as you catch it. Disposal: Bury: Bury them deep and well away from the water's edge to prevent scavengers from…

Where I grew up (in northern Australia) a lot of people targeted and ate tilapia out of local estuaries .. there were a lot of them and they were big.

Hello cousin (Daintree adjacent here).
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