New lease of life for burn victims with the opening of skin bank in Chennai

Chennai:
Burn victims in Chennai will get a new lease of life with the opening of a skin bank in the city on Wednesday.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, the director of Chennai Skin Foundation and Yesudian Research Institute Dr S Murugusundaram said that the skin bank set up in association with Eurobank of Netherlands and Dr Dilip Shah of Pune, who was a pioneer in starting skin bank in India, will stock the skins taken from cadaver and will be used as biological dressing for burn victims, a life saving panacea.”

He said the skins will be taken within six hours of death and can be preserved in glycerol up to a maximum of five years. This could give a new lease of life to patients dying of third degree burns,” he added.

He also said the city will have its first-ever diagnostic, therapeutic, teaching and research facility for skin, hair and nail disorders with the launch of the Chennai Skin Foundation and Yesudian Research Institute.

He said there is no specialized center dedicated to skin despite there being more than 600 diseases that affect the skin. The skin foundation was found to fill this gap and offer a wholesome solution.

He said the aim would be to provide quality and low cost treatment for skin, hair and nail ailments, patient education, awareness and teaching.

He also said the foundation will also offer unique training programmes for post graduates and young dermatologists in basic, clinical, procedural and surgical dermatology.