NEW HORIZONS — Treating burns with silver

Restoration of natural skin function following severe burns has long been a prime concern of military doctors. In severe cases, restoration often requires skin grafts, the success of which is not always assured.

The importance of electrically driven silver to increase the chances of successful skin grafts has now been established, according to a study by the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research.

The study employed silver-coated nylon fabric dressings, which were soaked in a saline solution and placed over the burn wounds of laboratory rats. A small direct current of one-tenth of a microampere was then applied (a microampere is equal to one-millionth of an ampere). The current released a stream of silver ions, which flowed into the wounded area. The silver ions not only acted as an antimicrobial agent against such virulent bacteria as pseudomonas (which inhibits the natural restoration of skin function) but aided in the healing of both the areas of the graft and the donor sites, from where the grafted skin was harvested.

The study also showed that the charged silver-nylon dressings shortened the time for skin reconstruction, in comparison to the same silver dressing without the current.

With or without an applied current, silver-nylon dressings still minimized inflammatory conditions in the wound area that result from uninhibited bacterial growth.

Equally important is the simultaneous control of the copious production of fluids, which is the body’s natural reaction to extensive burns, and the proliferation of bacteria in the wound. The study showed that the application of the direct-current treatment significantly reduced the generation of fluids, in comparison to wounds treated with a non-charged silver-nylon dressing.

In addition, the study revealed that the charged silver-coated nylon dressings aided healing by reducing the body’s tendency to regenerate thicker and shorted muscle tissue, which often happens with skin grafts.

The silver treatment also limited the loss of tiny blood vessel circulation in the burn area, while markedly reducing the presence of surface bacteria.

— The preceding was excerpted from “Silver News,” published by the Washington, D.C.-based Silver Institute.