Burn specialists at an Ontario hospital say they have carried out a world-first treatment using a novel biological therapy to treat a young woman severely injured in a house fire.
Hamilton Health Sciences said its team used exosomes — tiny particles released by cells that help coordinate healing and reduce inflammation — to treat 18-year-old Western University student Kaitlin Jeffrey after a fire in London, Ont., last December.
The particles, typically collected from lab-grown cells, were injected into injured areas with the goal of accelerating healing and reducing the need for skin grafts, which can leave scarring and uneven results.
Experts say exosomes have been studied for years in burn research, but had not previously been used on human burn patients, though they have shown promise in other types of wound healing.
Dr. Marc Jeschke, a burn surgeon at the hospital and a professor at McMaster University, led the procedure after seeking approval from Health Canada on compassionate grounds. With no objection from federal regulators, the team proceeded, becoming the first in the world to use the treatment in a burn case.
“My vision for Kaitlin was to avoid skin graft surgery to her face and neck at any cost,” Jeschke said in a release.
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Jeffrey underwent two treatments several days apart, using about one trillion exosomes sourced from the United States. Doctors say she healed faster and with better results than another student injured in the same fire who did not receive the treatment.
“You can do the best graft on the planet, but you won’t return the skin to normal,” Jeschke said, noting that facial grafts can be particularly difficult, especially for younger patients.
Jeffrey described the results as “honestly a miracle,” adding that the outcome, particularly for her face, is helping her recover from the psychological impact of the fire.
Hamilton Health Sciences said the procedure was carried out at its regional burn program at Hamilton General Hospital, one of two specialized burn centres in Ontario, alongside research conducted at its Centre for Burn Research.
Jeschke said further research is needed, but he hopes the treatment could one day become a new standard of care in Canada.
Jeffrey and her family said they also hope exosome therapy will become more widely available to other burn patients in the future.