South Africans are a bright bunch. We invented the braai, heart surgery and penile transplants. We have that guy from Pretoria and we have the dude who went to space. On a whole, we are doing alright when it comes down to science and technology.

Whilst we’re still basking in the glory of the man with the new penis, we can add this to our list of medical achievements:

A world class skin-grafting experiment that has proved incredibly successful.

Using just an incubator and a small piece of skin, doctors have managed to save the lives of two burn victims who were sure to die. Wayne Kleintjes, the doctor behind this miracle, and his team have managed to bring a procedure that can cost millions to under R1 000 – and it’s all done in the hospital room.

Here, Kleintjies explains what they did:

We borrowed two incubators and harvested a skin biopsy of 3cmx7cm from his hip.

He makes it sound so simple…

They then grew the skin in “a number of sessions”, usually lasting two weeks each, after which they were able to graft the skin on to the patient.

The Western Cape health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo has nothing but praised the technique, calling it “a bold and ground-breaking innovation which is life-saving, cost-effective and done locally. It is a world-class innovation”.

According to the health department head for the Western Cape the “technique was being patented to prevent it from becoming commercialised”.

Good work, doc.

[Source: TimesLive]