re:more us coverage on fda trials

Happy Days, Bent



“I think it is revolutionary and I think it has a lot of applications not only to burns but also any type of soft tissue or open wound coverage,” Kind added.



http://www.kens5.com/news/San-Antonio-patients-help-test-new-spray-on-skin-for-burns-138511084.html

San Antonio patients help test new "spray-on skin" for burns . Credit: Wendy Rigby / KENS 5

Trauma and burn surgeon Dr. Booker King explains how a new spray-on skin product is used in the operating room on burn patients

by Wendy Rigby / KENS 5
Bio | Email
kens5.com
Posted on February 1, 2012 at 2:57 PM

Updated today at 2:57 PM
Related:
•U.S. Army Institute of Surgical Research
•ReCell Spray-on Skin
Gallery
.See all 3 photos »

SAN ANTONIO -- San Antonio doctors are helping test a new kind of treatment for burn victims. It’s a spray-on skin.

The body has amazing regenerative abilities. Now, a new product is helping burn victims recover from their serious wounds by harnessing the power in their own skin.

The renowned burn center at the Army’s Institute of Surgical Research is always on the lookout for a better way to treat their military and civilian patients. That’s why they’re part of a clinical trial of a new product called ReCell.

Surgeons take a sterile kit into the operating room and harvest a tiny piece of skin less than an inch square.

“So ReCell allows you to, instead of harvesting a large area, you’re harvesting an area the size of a postage stamp and cover up an area that’s much larger,” explained burn and trauma surgeon Dr. Booker King.

In a process that takes about a half hour, doctors combine the patient’s skin with an enzyme solution and then spray it back on to the treated burn site.

The skin cells grow together and cover up the whole surface. Since surgeons don’t have to harvest as much donor skin from other sites on the body, it’s easier on the patient. And so far, it looks like the spray-on skin heals and functions as well as grafts.

“I think it is revolutionary and I think it has a lot of applications not only to burns but also any type of soft tissue or open wound coverage,” Kind added.

Hundreds of patients come through the burn unit each year. About a dozen will be involved in the study.

If all goes well, the spray-on skin product could win FDA approval and be on the market in a couple of years.