General Question

Adina1968's avatar

When a person dies can you use the skin from the corpse for a skin graft?

Asked by Adina1968 (2752points) June 21st, 2008
Observing members: 0 Composing members: 0

13 Answers

jlm11f's avatar

i believe this covers it: “Cadaver skin has been harvested for a long time for use as temporary wound coverage. If you try grafting it on someone else, their body ultimately mounts an immune response and rejects it. Still, it can make an effective temporary closure for very large burns. A number of companies turn cadaver skin into commercial products like Alloderm by removing the proteins from it that trigger your immune system. Alloderm (usually processed from the very thick back skin) is a very strong material I increasingly use during breast reconstruction”

So basically, you CAN get a temporary skin graft from dead bodies (even though there will be an immune response) source

AstroChuck's avatar

Back in 2002 Philadephia Phillies catcher Mike Lieberthal underwent “cadaver graft” surgery. Scary, kids?

Stocky's avatar

Im getting visions of Texas chainsaw massacre

Zaku's avatar

Only if the skin eaters don’t beat you to it.

playthebanjo's avatar

Um…is there something we should know, adina?

(backs away slowly)

Knotmyday's avatar

If you agree to donate, they will harvest your skin if necessary.
Don’t believe the weird rumors. Open casket funerals are still an option, and you will be helping others; literally the last thing you can do.

AstroChuck's avatar

Can I make myself a skin suit, a la Silence of the Lambs?
“It puts the lotion on its skin or else it gets the hose.”

Knotmyday's avatar

If you have the wherewithal and the inclination, I suppose.
Taxidermy is also an option to consider.

Trance24's avatar

There is a surgery that has been developed for people with mass burns and deformed skin that allows you to use the skin of another human being. The amazing thing is they have used peoples faces, to use as replacement faces for those who have been deformed or burned.

source
Source

shilolo's avatar

Yes, as PnL said, skin grafts are frequently used to save the lives of individuals with serious burns. For example, the burn center at New York Presbyterian is internationally known for this, and when I was a student in New York, one of the coveted jobs (very lucrative) was to be on a skin harvesting team to recover skin for burn patients. You would be on call at all hours to go collect the skin after the organs had been harvested for donation as well.

AstroChuck's avatar

All this talk is making me hungry.

scamp's avatar

In the podiatrist office I worked in we used this product to help heal diabetic wounds.

asmonet's avatar

Yeah, pnl is right.
Did you know they also use chunks of cadavers in some forms lip augmentation? Think of that every time you see Julia Roberts’ million dollar smile dearies. See how hot she is to you then.

Ladies, there are good reasons we shouldn’t be opting in to surgery. See above.

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