A Texas mother is sharing the remarkable story of how doctors used fish skin to heal her premature daughter’s severe wound.
Krystal DeVos gave birth to her daughter Eliana in April 2022, at just 23 weeks gestation. Eliana weighed only one pound and spent 131 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). During this time, she developed a deep wound on her neck caused by a serious bacterial infection.
DeVos described the infection as “almost like a flesh-eating disease,” where Eliana’s body was attacking the tissue in her neck. The infection worsened, leading to sepsis, a dangerous condition where the body responds improperly to infection and can cause organ failure.
After 86 days in the NICU, Eliana was transferred to Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas. There, doctors treated her with various medications and introduced an unusual wound care method — using fish skin.
Dr. Vanessa Dimas, a pediatric plastic surgeon at Driscoll, explained that Eliana’s wound required removal of dead skin and coverage to encourage healthy tissue growth. However, surgery or skin grafts were too risky due to Eliana’s fragile condition.
Instead, the medical team cleaned the wound with a honey-based solution and applied fish skin from wild North Atlantic cod. This fish skin contains omega oils and natural elements that closely resemble human skin, which helps speed healing. Dr. Dimas said the fish skin “basically does its job, helping the wound heal, then it just melts away.”
The treatment showed dramatic improvement within three days, and the wound fully healed in 10 days with minimal scarring.
Now three years old, Eliana is a happy and energetic toddler. Her mother says the scar is barely visible. DeVos affectionately calls her daughter her “little mermaid” and hopes to share Eliana’s story to raise awareness about fish skin as a medical treatment.
Eliana does not yet know about the fish skin therapy, but DeVos plans to explain it to her as she grows older, calling it a unique part of her story.
DeVos encourages others to be open to new medical treatments. “Never be fearful to try something new. Always be open-minded and just have faith,” she said. “In our case, it worked out really great.”
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