CNN Anchor: Three-year-old Eliana DaVos in Texas just may be a bit of a mermaid. 1Shortly after she was born, it was the 2healing power of fish skin that helped her recover from an 3open wound on her neck.
Krystal DeVos, Mother of Eliana: It looks like a normal scar that you and I would get. You would 4have no way of knowing that they used fish skin to help 5expedite that 6healing process.
CNN Anchor: Eliana was born 7preterm in April of 2022 at 23 weeks 8gestation, four months before her due date. She 9weighed a single pound.
"What's going on, baby girl?"
She spent more than 100 days total in the 10NICU, but it was about 11midway through her stay when she developed a serious 12bacterial infection on her neck. It damaged the 13tissue under her skin and caused a 14deep wound.
Krystal DeVos, Mother of Eliana: It sounds scary, but it was almost like a 15flesh-eating disease.
CNN Anchor: Eliana was transferred from a general hospital to Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi. Despite her severe wound, she was not a candidate for surgery or a 16conventional human skin 17graft. They were too risky. Instead, Dr. Dimas and nurse practitioner Roxana Reyna tried something different. They used a 18medical-grade 19honey solution to clean out the wound. Medical honey is known to help safely remove dead tissue and support healing. Then they applied a mixture of that honey with the fish skin to cover the wound.
Dr. Vanessa Dimas, Surgeon, Driscoll Children's Hospital: It's 20microscopically so close to human skin that it helps the wound start to heal. It gives the 21scaffold.
CNN Anchor: You see, the fish skin taken from wild Atlantic cod provided a type of platform for Eliana's body to grow new skin tissue, and some of the omega oils and other 22natural elements helped 23contribute to the healing process.
Dr. Vanessa Dimas: Once it basically does its job helping the wound heal, then it sort of just melts away.
CNN Anchor: Eliana's care team appears to be the first to use fish skin in this way in 24fragile preterm infants.
