Skin Transplant
The skin is the body’s largest organ. For people suffering from severe burn injuries, a skin transplant may be the only way to heal.
How our programme can help you
If you’ve been severely burnt, your own skin may be damaged so badly that it is no longer able to protect you against infections or perform its healing function.
To treat your burn injuries, your doctor will work with Singapore General Hospital’s Skin Bank Unit to obtain donated skin which will be used as a temporary dressing for your wounds. Your doctor will remove all the burnt tissues in a surgical procedure before applying the donated skin. This temporary dressing is to help relieve pain and discomfort as well as reduce the risk of infection. Once your condition has stabilised, doctors will begin to take some of your own skin to cover your burns.
Achievements
Singapore General Hospital’s Skin Bank was set up in 1998 at the hospital’s Burns Centre to recover skin from deceased donors for the treatment of severe burns in Singapore.
The Skin Bank Unit, one of the few known skin banks in Southeast Asia, has an average of 7 donors a year. To date, the unit has provided 152 burn victims with 618, 760cm
2 of donor skin (almost the size of a badminton court) for grafting.
Singapore General Hospital Burns Centre is the only dedicated burns unit in Singapore. On average, the centre treats some 200 patients a year, most of whom suffer from burn injuries as a result of industrial or domestic accidents. About 15% of these patients sustain major burns and benefit from a temporary skin transplant.
Data from a clinical study at Singapore General Hospital Burns Centre shows that the availability of donor skin for severe burns treatment has helped to reduce the incidence of death by 29% and reduce patients’ hospital stay by 10 days.
For more information on skin transplants
Contact
Mr Alvin Chua
Skin Bank Unit
Singapore General Hospital
Outram Road
Singapore 169608