Horizon Health Physician Showcases Wound-Healing Fish Skin

Horizon Health Podiatrist Dr. Brittany Wojnicki has proven that fish skin can heal diabetic wounds and is sharing her findings with physicians around the world.

In early October, Dr. Wojnicki – along with registered nurses Karen Orndorff and Lauren Zinkovich – attended the Symposium on Advanced Wound Care in Las Vegas, Nevada. Approximately 3,000 physicians attended the clinical education event, which showcased wound care and amputation prevention.

At the symposium, Dr. Wojnicki presented how fish skin was used to treat a patient’s severe diabetic wounds, which ultimately saved her legs.

“She was supposed to have two lower leg amputations, and her wounds were healed in only three months with the fish skin,” Dr. Wojnicki explained.

When grafted onto a burn or diabetic wound, the fish skin recruits the body's own cells and is ultimately converted into living tissue. The naturally occurring Omega-3 Fish Skin comes from wild Atlantic cod.

“Below knee amputations are a major cause for morbidity and mortality in the diabetic population,” Dr. Wojnicki explained. “The five-year mortality rate after a below knee amputation is 40-82%, with a 30-day mortality rate of 17%. Fish skin grafting has shown to prevent amputations, prolong life, and improve quality of life.”

Dr. Wojnicki shared a similar successful patient outcome at a clinical workshop in Iceland last year. Her success in using fish skin to treat diabetic wounds has earned her several awards from the medical community.

The Horizon Health Wound Clinic provides treatment for various types of non-healing wounds, including burns, infected wounds, and ulcers. Dr. Wojnicki has used fish skin for successful wound healing for the past four years.