Fish Skin Saves Texas Baby from Flesh-Eating Disease

A three-year-old girl from Texas, Eliana DeVos, faced a severe bacterial infection that resulted in a deep wound on her neck. Traditional treatments, such as surgery or skin grafts, were deemed too risky due to her premature birth. However, doctors at Driscoll Children's Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas, employed an innovative approach: a combination of medical-grade honey and fish skin. "It sounds scary, but it was almost like a flesh-eating disease," explained Eliana's mother, Krystal DeVos. Dr. Vanessa Dimas, a surgeon at Driscoll, stated, "The wound was very extensive, and she was pretty sick; surgery wasn't safe." The fish skin, sourced from wild Atlantic cod, acted as a scaffold, allowing Eliana's body to regenerate new skin tissue. This innovative treatment appears to be the first of its kind for fragile premature infants, offering a beacon of hope for similar cases in the future.