Derrick Alger shares a presentation discussing how tilapia skin can help burn victims.

1. Tilapia Skin: How Can It Help Burn
Victims

2. For centuries doctors in have been using animal
skin for burn treatment. However, when you
reside in country where there is a shortage of pig
skin, human skin, and artificial alternatives, it
comes as now surprise that doctors located in
Ortaleza, Brazil have begun testing a new method
for treating victims with second and third degree
burns. They are now using the skin from a species
of fish known as, Tilapia.

3. Due to the shortage of skin banks, burn specialist
and plastic surgeon, Dr. Edmar Maciel, has begun
leading the clinical trials using sterilized tilapia.
Patients are normally providing silver
sulfadiazine cream and giving and gauze band aid.
The burn cream is effective in the sense that it
stops the burn from getting infected, but it is
ineffective in terms of assisting the burn with
healing.

4. Cream + Gauze vs Tilapia

5. The dressing consisting gauze-and-cream
dressing must be changed daily and can result in a
fair amount of pain while changing.

6. Tilapia skin is application is simple. The fish in
skin is applied and stays on.

7. How can this be so? Well, first let’s investigate
why tilapia was chosen for the clinical trials:

8. Tilapia is in abundance in Brazil
Collagen protein types 1 and 3 are
abundant in tilapia skin (this type of
protein is good for scarring)
The resistance and tension in tilapia
skin is much greater than in that of
human skin.
A significant amount of moisture

9. Tilapia skin can remain on the victims
with superficial burns until the scars
naturally heal
Tilapia skin can be changed less
frequently than cream + gauze for
victims with deep second degree
burns.
Tilapia can reduce healing time and
the use of medication by several days.

10. The tilapia skin trials will continue and if
the treatments continue to demonstrate
success, doctors are hopeful this
treatment will be introduced to the public
health system.