How ‘Spray Skin’ Is Helping Burn Victims

December 7, 2020 Richard R. Salzman

Spray-on skin is a culturing treatment that helps burn victims. Perth professor Fiona Wood developed it. This treatment became popular during the 2002 Bali bombing, where doctors used it on the victims.

A small amount of healthy skin is collected from the patient and submerged in an enzyme solution. It is then cultured for five days. The mixture forms a liquid suspension containing fibroblasts, melanocytes, and keratinocytes. These cells are essential for wounds to heal faster. The solution is then sprayed evenly on the burnt area to ensure the live cells are well distributed.

What Types and Degrees of Burn Injuries Can Spray Skin Treat?

Burns come in two different types, major and minor burns.

Major Burns Characteristics

The burns may result in dry and leathery skin.
They are deep
The burns have black, white, or brown patches.
Charred appearance.
Burns are more than three inches in diameter.

Minor Burns Characteristics

Minor burns are painful
The surface of the skin appears red.
Blistered skin

Spray skin can be used for both major and minor burns on any part of the body. It is mostly reserved for patients with 20% or more burns on their body surface area. Victims with deep burns on their hands and face can also use spray skin to prevent major scarring.

Levels of Burns

There are three levels of burns:

1. First Degree Burns

First degree burns affect the skin’s outer layer. They swell, cause pain, and have redness.

2. Second-Degree Burns

The underlying layer and the outer layer of the skin are affected by these burns. Victims have blistering, swelling, redness, and pain.

3. Third-Degree Burns

The third-degree burns affect the deep tissues of the skin.

Spray-on skin has been used to treat all types and degrees of burn injuries in both children and adults. It is important to note that not all burns centers are using this procedure to treat burns.

What Is the Difference Between Traditional Skin Graft and Spray Skin?

Skin grafting requires surgery to remove the burned skin. The surgical procedure replaces the underlying tissue with healthy skin from another part of your body. The procedure is effective. However, it can leave discoloration, scarring, and cause pain.

On the other hand, spray skin does not require surgery and has less scarring and chances of infections. It is a less painful procedure and promotes faster healing. The skin taken for spray skin is the size of a credit card.

How Long Does It Take to Process a Skin Sample?

Processing a skin sample takes about 30 minutes as the cells are from the patient, and there is no likelihood of rejection.

Benefits of Spray Skin Treatment

There are many benefits of spray skin treatment including:

Spray skin is a light treatment that does not need contact or actively intervening on the wound. This ensures there is no unnecessary pain brought by external forces.
The sprayed skin spreads over the wound surface evenly, which allows the skin to start growing faster. Other technologies do not allow better spread on the surface of the wound when compared to spray skin.
Spray skin is a faster treatment that can take up to three weeks. A traditional skin graft can take more than a month to heal completely.
Your skin cannot reject the spray skin method since the treatment uses your own skin cells

Plan Accordingly

If you’re planning to get this treatment, it’s important to plan a budget since the treatment is new in the market and is still quite costly. Look for a surgeon with a good reputation for offering this kind of treatment for successful results. There are no do-overs when treating severe burns.