Burns patient praises medics for pioneering pineapple treatment
The enzymes in NexoBrid help remove burnt areas and leaves just healthy tissue behind.
Specialists at a burns unit have been praised for pioneering a treatment using pineapple plants.
Medics at St John’s Hospital in Livingston, West Lothian, are using a new drug called NexoBrid to help patients in what is a first for Scotland.
The treatment involves the use of a tissue-dissolving enzyme made from the pineapple plant that helps remove burnt areas and leaves just healthy tissue behind.
Lee-Anne Jones, 44, suffered horrific burns to her foot while trying to move a barbecue from a beach in July.
The beauty therapist, from near Foulden in the Scottish Borders, said of her injury: “It didn’t tickle – it was like being stung by 1,000 wasps.”
Speaking about the care she received, she added: “From the ladies who brought me my food to the nurses who looked after me, I can’t thank them enough – they were absolutely fantastic.
“I couldn’t be happier with the outcome and I’m so grateful to have been offered the NexoBrid because I do feel if I had been given a skin graft that I would have taken significantly longer to heal.”
The hospital’s Wallace Burns Unit typically cares for patients with deeper burns that may require general anaesthetic procedures.
While such operations are a successful and long-established treatment option, the healing times can be long, delaying a return to normal life for many patients.
The unit is the first in Scotland to use the new enzyme treatment.
It involves the application of a special paste and powder directly to the burn and immediate surrounding area, lasting around four hours.
Consultant burn surgeon Hilal Bahia said: “This treatment harnesses the amazing power of plants to help treat burns patients.
“If you have ever burnt yourself, even only in a minor way, you will know how painful it can be. Imagine if your burn was over a larger surface area, or was more severe.
“In these times of Covid-19, we’re trying to avoid general anaesthetics as much as possible.
“So not needing to take a patient to theatre is a distinct advantage.
“If the burn is deep enough, unfortunately we may still need to do a skin graft afterwards to cover the defect.
“But in Lee-Anne’s case we were able to avoid that altogether.”
