Single-Stage Coverage of Exposed Critical Structures With Intact Decellularized Fish Skin and Simultaneous Epidermal...

Area of Science:

• Orthopedic Surgery
• Regenerative Medicine
• Wound Healing

Background:

• Reconstructing exposed bone and tendon in upper-extremity injuries is challenging.
• Current methods often involve multiple surgeries or complex microsurgical techniques.
• A simplified, single-stage approach is needed to improve patient outcomes.

Observation:

• A novel technique utilizing intact decellularized fish skin graft (DFSG) laminated with split-thickness skin autograft (STSA) was employed.
• This single-stage procedure was applied to two distinct cases: a dog-bite forearm injury with exposed tendons and a crush hand injury with exposed metacarpal fracture.
• Both cases underwent definitive debridement followed by the DFSG and STSA application.

Findings:

• Both patients achieved successful wound healing with the single-stage DFSG and STSA procedure.
• No further surgical interventions were required post-application of the grafts.
• The technique demonstrated efficacy in complex upper-extremity reconstructions.

Implications:

• This approach offers a potentially less invasive and more efficient alternative for treating challenging upper-extremity wounds.
• It may reduce the number of surgical procedures and shorten the overall healing time.
• Decellularized fish skin grafts represent a promising biomaterial in reconstructive surgery.