Medical doctors save burn victims thanks to the skin of the twin brother

Man had little chance of survival

In France, a burnt victim was rescued by transplanting the skin of his identical twin. This is reported by the Hospital Association Assistance publique - hypotaux de Paris (AP-HP). The 33-year-old patient suffered severe burns from a fire last year and had virtually no chance of survival. According to the association, the procedure was the most extensive skin transplant ever performed.

At work accident burned almost the entire body surface

French physicians have saved the life of a 33-year-old man by transplanting his brother's skin. According to a recent release from the AP-HP, the patient had a workplace accident last year that burned 95 percent of his skin irreversibly. His chances of survival were almost zero, but his identical twin brother agreed to donate his skin. This could cover the burns of the man.

In a Paris clinic doctors have a 33-year-old burn victim extensively transplanted the skin of his twin brother. (Image: edwardolive / fotolia.com)

Only feet and pelvis were spared

When the patient was given the name "Franck" in September 2016, given the extent of the burns, doctors did not expect the young man to survive. 95% of the body surface was burned, including the face. Only a part of his feet and his pelvis were spared, reports the channel franceinfo. But his brother immediately offered to donate skin, informed Professor Maurice Mimoun from the hospital Saint-Louis in Paris. "There was no question for him to do other things," said the physician to the station.

Brother donates half of his skin

The offer of the brother gave rise to great hope for a healing of the burnt offering. Because the brothers are identical twins, there was no risk of transplant rejection. The patient can live his entire life without immunosuppressive treatment with his brother's skin, since both men are genetically identical. "The advantage of transplanting with the skin of his twin is that the skin will not be rejected after three weeks, just like any other skin," explains Professor Mimoun.

The brother donated a total of 50% of his skin from the head, back and thighs to help Franck. This was then stretched by means of a special machine to cover the burned body of the patient. After more than four months of special treatment, the patient was discharged from the burn center of Saint Louis Hospital and is currently undergoing rehabilitation. As the station reports, Franck is already walking and has returned home.

Hope for other burnt offerings

The successful operation raises hopes for all burn victims with extensive skin damage, says Mimoun. "Research is progressing," says the professor. "Another magic phenomenon is that early transplantation allowed us to discover that there were some areas of the skin that had recovered," says the physician. (No)