New silk surgical dressing can better prevent post-op skin injuries, infections
SAN DIEGO — A San Diego-area surgeon has invented a new post-surgery adhesive bandage that doctors say could be a game changer in preventing infections or other complications.
Dr. Mark Mofid created the dressing, which is almost like a mesh Band-Aid made of pure hypoallergenic silk fibroin. It is called Sylke and its designed to particularly cut back on outcomes that could lead to nasty scarring.
In some early clinical trials, Mofid found that the prototype for the bandage caused no allergic reactions or infections compared to the widely used post-operation dressing, Steri-strips.
According to Mofid, each patient in the trial, which included 25 participants, was dressed half in a Sylke protoype and half in an existing dressing, like Steri-strips or DERMABOND PRINEO.
New UCSD study explores impact of wildfires on freshwater aquatic ecosystems
“The strips came off within a day and the incisions were exposed,” said Leah Lorc, who participated in the clinical trial. On the right side of her body, where Sylke was used, the stiches from a procedure closed with less issue than the stitches under the study’s control bandage used on the other side of her body.
Each year, 1.5 million Americans suffer from a medical adhesive-related skin injury, or MARSI, caused by synthetic surgical adhesive dressings. These injuries can lead to painful complications, including surgical site infections (SSIs) and poor scarring outcomes.
“Currently, there are an alarming number of surgical site infections and unnecessary skin injuries, and we hope to treat that,” said Mofid.
He spent three and a half years developing Sylke, particularly ensuring that the dressing is water resistant and contours to the body well. He says it can be used for all kinds of incisions from different surgeries, everything from cardiac procedures to plastic surgery.
“We believe this represents an evolution in technology,” said Mofid.
Sylke is commercially available, but Mofid says their current focus is to distribute it to hospitals.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego.
