First donation to skin bank: History-making surgery at Thiruvananthapuram Medical College

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram Medical College has become the venue for the charitable act of donating the skin of brain-dead patients. The first skin separation surgery in the state has been performed in a government hospital. This can save the lives of severely burned patients.

Although the system for storing skin was set up last September, this is the first time a family has come forward to donate and the doctors have successfully separated the skin. The decision of the relatives to donate the skin of S Shibu (46), a native of Chirakkara, Kollam, who died of brain death following a road accident, was crucial in the functioning of the Skin Bank.

The team led by Dr. Premlal, Head of the Plastic Surgery Department and Burns State Nodal Officer, removed the skin from the back of the thigh in an hour-and-a-half-long surgery. The skin is taken within six hours of a person's death and preserved at a special temperature and system. After three weeks of chemical processing, the skin will be attached to the patients in need through plastic surgery and advanced technology. A skin bank was set up at the Thiruvananthapuram Medical College along with the Burns Unit at a cost of Rs. 6.75 crore. Health Minister Veena George congratulated Dr. Premlal's team for successfully completing the skin removal surgery.

Only the part of the body that is not visible from the outside

• The skin is separated from the back of the thigh or other parts in a thickness of 0.1-0.9 mm so that the body is not deformed. There is a technology to preserve the skin intact for up to three months.
• Skin grafts are used to prevent someone's wounds from getting worse and getting infected. This can save many lives.