Simple Skin Grafting

Worldwide, 347 million people have diabetes, and every 30 seconds one of them has a lower limb amputated. This is because diabetes can cause damage to the nerves and blood vessels, which puts people at risk of developing skin wounds that can become dangerously infected.

When these ulcers become severe, sometimes the only way for patients to save their legs is to undergo intense, painful skin grafting surgery. This involves healthy skin being harvested from their thigh and transplanted onto the wound.

Now a new device is transforming the skin harvesting process by allowing doctors to easily remove only the thin, top layer of skin, known as the epidermis, without cutting into the inner layer of skin.

Lisa Desai travels to Los Angeles, California, to find out how this minimally invasive and almost pain-free technique is reducing treatment times, saving limbs and transforming lives.