Doctors have developed a technique to treat severe burns using a paste made from tiny fragments of a patient’s skin. The procedure involves taking a small, healthy patch of skin from the thigh, chopping it into tiny pieces, and mixing it with a gel. The resulting paste is then applied to the wound. Results have shown that each tiny fragment can grow to 500 times its original size, allowing for a much smaller amount of healthy skin to be grafted than is currently removed to cover burns. Experts say using the skin paste will allow patients to avoid the permanent scars that are characteristic of the traditional methods, as well as the agonizing experience of undergoing large skin grafts. Clinical trials on humans is now in the pipeline.
