596 The Introduction of Fish Skin Xenograft to a Burns Unit in a Country at War

TL;DR

Fish skin xenograft was introduced in a war-affected country to treat large burns due to lack of other graft options.

Contribution

Fish skin xenograft is a viable alternative in war zones where allograft and pig xenograft are unavailable.

Findings

Fish skin xenograft enabled larger burn excisions and earlier autologous grafting.

The xenograft does not require refrigeration, making it suitable for resource-limited settings.

Donating fish skin xenograft to war-affected countries can improve burn care outcomes.

Abstract

Because of war there are very large numbers of big full thickness burns arriving at the country’s biggest burn centre.

Burn Surgeons in this country do not have access to allograft, and have little access to pig xenograft.

Fish skin xenograft is freeze-dried and does not require refrigeration.

After appropriate training, Fish skin xenograft was introduced to the burn service.

The availability of fish xenograft allowed for larger burn excisions than prior to the intervention and allowed earlier autologous skin grafting.

In the absence of allograft, fish skin xenograft allows for earlier coverage of large areas of full thickness burns.

When considering what to donate to countries at war, priority should be given to the donation of fish skin xenograft.

The mission to this country was funded by the British Red Cross.

The fish skin xenograft was donated by the manufacturers.