Veterinarians Apply Fish Skin Bandage to Mountain Lion that Suffered Bad Burns

A young male mountain lion that suffered bad burns on all four paw pads, received a revolutionary treatment that includes using fish skin as a bandage.

The mountain lion was rescued on December 22 and taken to a lab in Rancho Cordova for treatment. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife says it was there that veterinarians applied the steralized fish skin bandage. 

The skin used is from tilapia, and this unusual technique was even used in Brazil to successfully treat human burn patients. The fish skin creates a biologic bandage to protect the burn area and also provides collagen to speed up the recovery process.

The lion has responded well to the treatment, and is expected to make a full recovery.

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