Illinois hospital using regenerative medicine to restore damaged limbs

PEORIA, Ill. - An Illinois hospital is saving lives through regeneration.

Dr. Eric Martin is the Chief of Vascular Surgery at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria. He has worked on regenerative reconstruction for the most serious cases, like bacterial infection, traumatic crushed limbs and lower limb ulcers that become infected and spread.

"A lot of patients that may suffer from diabetes, have a history of abnormal circulation or have peripheral artery disease, people who are smokers and develop ulcers. Others are patients who have venous stasis disease where vein valves are not working properly, and they go on to develop a venous ulcer," said Dr. Martin.

He uses regenerative medicine like pig intestine, pig bladder, cow tendon, fish skin and more.

"The healing capabilities of the fish skin have been quite remarkable," said Dr. Martin. "The characteristics and composition of the fish skin are nearly identical to what you'd see with human skin. If you'd take a slice of human skin and a slice of fish skin, and put it under an electron microscope and look at it, it'd almost look identical."

The fish skin, manufactured by a company in Iceland, spurs new blood vessel growth and collagen, which encourages growth of the outer layer of the skin.

"We harvest the fish skin right out of the ocean, we take the scales off through a very gentle process. What comes out is a medical device that totally absorbs in the skin in seven days," said Joe Smith, from the company Kerecis.

OSF Saint Francis is the only location in Illinois that uses this procedure.

Dr. Martin hopes to train other doctors to use his techniques around the world.

"We like to pride ourselves on being at the tip of the spear and at the forefront in regenerative reconstruction in the state of Illinois," said Dr. Martin.