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Accelerate Burn Healing with Fish Skin

Optimize your patients’ burn care and recovery
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Severe burns are traumatic and physically debilitating for patients, who may experience slow healing rates, infection, pain, and hypertrophic scarring during their recovery.

Backed by industry-leading clinical data, Kerecis’ GraftGuide® can optimize your patients’ burn care and recovery. Made of intact fish skin, GraftGuide is clinically proven to accelerate burn wound healing, while reducing complications, length of stay, and scarring.

Kerecis for Burn Management

Accelerate healing & reduce complications [1-3]

Reduce patient length of stay [4,5]

Regenerate organized tissue & help minimize scarring [6-8]

Accelerate Burn Healing & Reduce Complications

Because there is no known risk of disease transfer from North Atlantic cod to humans, Kerecis fish-skin grafts are minimally processed with no harsh chemicals or detergents. This gentle processing preserves the fish skin’s natural structure, porosity, and molecular content, which help promote faster and more effective wound healing.

This has exciting implications for burn patients:

Deep-partial thickness burns treated with Kerecis grafts had significantly faster blood vessel formation, faster integration into the wound bed without increased contraction, and faster wound closure compared to burns treated with fetal bovine dermis.[1]

Faster Blood Vessel Formation Than Fetal Bovine Dermis[1]

Kerecis Fish-Skin Graft
Fetal Bovine Dermis
Kerecis-treated burns had significantly more blood vessels (indicated by positive brown staining) on Day 7

With Kerecis’ faster epithelialization and healing, you can potentially avoid a subsequent split-thickness skin graft,[2,3] which can be invasive and painful for your patients.

Kerecis fish-skin grafts also help reduce complications during the burn healing process by acting as a natural bacterial barrier for up to 48-72 hours.[4] To date, no known infection incidents have been reported on the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS).

Reduce Patient Length of Stay

With GraftGuide’s efficient application and rapid healing outcomes, hospitals and providers can significantly reduce their patients’ recovery time and length of stay.

A 2024 case series on patients with deep dermal burns found that Kerecis drastically reduced the length of hospitalization by promoting rapid healing with no evidence of infection, avoiding the need for split-thickness skin grafts and additional operations.[5]

By accelerating healing and reducing length of stay, hospitals can achieve significant cost savings,*,[6] while helping your patients get back to doing what they love – faster.

*Cost outcomes are based on results from Lantis et al., 2023, and may not reflect real‑world costs or outcomes in all settings. Individual results may vary, and no specific financial savings are guaranteed.

fish skin graft

                                                       Graph adapted from Heitzmann et al[7]

Regenerate Organized Skin Tissue

Kerecis’ minimal processing preserves the fish skin’s natural molecular content, which supports organized tissue regeneration and can help minimize scarring.[3,8,9]

In a 2021 feasibility study, full-thickness burn wounds treated with Kerecis had similar functional and cosmetic outcomes, including pliability, pigmentation, hydration, and vascularity, as cadaver skin-treated burn wounds.[9]

One year after treatment, punch biopsies revealed fully regenerated skin with a natural basket-weave pattern, multiple distinct layers, and vascular structures well-distributed.[9]

Organized Tissue Regeneration with Kerecis[9]

5x
Kerecis + STSG at 1 year follow-up, showing Rete ridges that promote healthy mechanical properties and elasticity

Unique Sizes & Variations to Meet Your Burn Care Needs

Our GraftGuide portfolio — including our Meshed 2:1 product, which expands to cover larger burns — is designed to help you handle complex burn injuries with greater ease.

Check out our product page for more details.

Learn More
GraftGuide Meshed

Thermal Hand Burn

Thermal hand burn managed with GraftGuide Mano, with reduced inflammation and no scar contracture.

Jason M. Bregg
, MD

Deep Partial-Thickness Thermal Burn

Patient History, Initial Treatment
  • 39-year-old male
  • Presented with 4% total body surface area (TBSA) deep partial-thickness thermal burn
Previous Management

Presented to the burn center on the same day as the injury with no previous treatment reported.

Application

The wound was debrided using dermabrasion, and GraftGuide Mano (Size L) was applied to cover the dorsal aspect of the right hand. The product was secured in place, and a secondary dressing was applied.

Clinical Outcome

Single application of GraftGuide Mano resulted in good secondary intention healing for the patient without the need of autograft. Good functional outcome with no evidence of scar contracture.

Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 1
Initial Presentation
Same day, post burn injury, prior to fish skin application
Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 2
Day 2
Pre-debridement
Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 3
Day 2
Excisional debridement with dermatome
Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 4
Intra-Op
Application of GraftGuide Mano
Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 5
Day 5
Product has almost incorporated fully into the wound bed. No signs of infection
Deep partial-thickness thermal burn - Case 3 - Image 6
Day 17
Full epithelialization without the need for a split thickness skin graft
Using Kerecis, we have closed everything from a one-year chronic wound… to diabetic foot ulcers, to venous stasis ulcers, to burn wounds.
McGroarty, Carrie PA-C
Carrie McGroarty
, PA-C, Raleigh, NC*
*Carrie McGroarty is a paid consultant of Kerecis

See how Kerecis Helped Burn Survivor Pétur Oddsson

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Burn Case Brochure
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GraftGuide Brochure
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GraftGuide Size Chart
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From the town of Isafjordur in northwest Iceland, Kerecis develops, manufactures, and sells patented fish skin soft tissue regeneration products that have regulatory approval in the United States, Europe and several other jurisdictions.

Important Information

This website and its content is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice. Products, services, information, and other content provided on this website, including information provided directly or through links to third-party websites, are for informational purposes only. Information on this website should not be considered a substitute for professional advice from a healthcare provider. Always consult with a physician or other healthcare professional regarding any medical or health-related diagnosis or treatment options.

Products and their variations may not be available in all countries and could be known under different trade names. Products, product names, indications, and claims vary by jurisdiction. Always verify with your local healthcare professional and consult the printed package information before use. Information on this website may not be current and might not reflect the latest product labeling – please refer to latest IFU’s on the website. For questions about product availability, please contact your Kerecis representative or use the contact form on our website.

Products are derived from fish sources and should not be used in patients with a known allergy to fish or sensitivity to fish products. Note that fish allergy is distinct from shellfish allergy. Do not apply fish skin products over infected or deteriorating wounds until the underlying cause has been resolved.

SurgiClose Silicone and Shield products contain silicone and are not suitable for patients with silicone sensitivity.
SurgiBind is not indicated for procedures requiring load-bearing support, such as hernia repair, for intraperitoneal organ contact, or where a bridging effect is needed.
SurgiBind Tendon Protect is not indicated to replace or repair the damaged tendon or to reinforce the strength of any tendon repair.
Always follow the product’s labeling for indications and contraindications.

A surgeon must always rely on their professional clinical judgment when deciding whether to use a specific product for a patient. Kerecis does not dispense medical advice and strongly recommends that surgeons be adequately trained in the use of its products before employing them in surgical procedures. The information provided on this website is intended to demonstrate the product offerings and should not replace the package insert, product label, or instructions for use. For regulatory and medical practice reasons, product availability may vary by market. Contact your Kerecis representative for further clarification.

  • For single patient use only; do not reuse, reprocess, or re-sterilize.
  • Discard any unused portions of the product.
  • Sterile only if the package is unopened and undamaged.
  • Do not use the product if the package seal has been broken, unintentionally opened, or if handling has caused damage or contamination.
  • Do not use after the expiration date printed on the product label or packaging.
  • Remove all non-viable and necrotic tissue prior to application of the product.
  • Remove exudate and control bleeding prior to product application.
  • Do not use in patients with known fish allergies.
  • The product is not designed, sold, or intended for use except as indicated.
  • No clinical trials have been conducted in pediatric, pregnant, or breastfeeding populations.

1

Stone R, Saathoff EC, Larson DA, et al. Accelerated Wound Closure of Deep Partial Thickness Burns with Acellular Fish Skin Graft. Int J Mol Sci. 2021;22(4):1590. doi:10.3390/ijms22041590 

2

Fierro AL, Bridge M, Hijazi N, Youssef G, Lantis JC 2nd. Intact Fish Skin Graft for the Treatment of Burns: Deep Partial Thickness Burns and Beyond. Surg Technol Int. 2025 Jan 16;45:sti45/1836. doi: 10.52198/25.STI.45.WH1836. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 39821348.   

3

Wallner, C. et al. (2022). The use of intact fish skin as a novel treatment method for deep dermal burns following enzymatic debridement: A retrospective case-control study. European Burn Journal, 3(1), 43–55. 

4

Magnusson S, et al. Regenerative and Antibacterial Properties of Acellular Fish Skin Grafts and Human Amnion/Chorion Membrane: Implications for Tissue Preservation in Combat Casualty Care. Mil Med. 2017;182(S1):383-388. doi:10.7205/ MILMED-D-16-00142 

5

Stauback R et al. The Use of Fish Skin Grafts in Children as a New Treatment of Deep Dermal Burns—Case Series with Follow-Up after 2 Years and Measurement of Elasticity as an Objective Scar Evaluation,J Clin Med. 2024 Apr 19;13(8):2389. doi: 10.3390/jcm13082389 

6

Lantis II JC, et al. Final efficacy and cost analysis of a fish skin graft vs standard of care in the management of chronic diabetic foot ulcers: a prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled clinical trial. Wounds. 2023;35(4):71-79. doi:10.25270/wnds/22094 

7

Heitzmann et al. Accelerated wound healing of enzymatically debrided deep dermal burn wounds after the use of fish skin in comparison to Suprathel. Burns. 2025 June. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2025.107471. Both products N = 22. p = 0.000007.

8

Yue B. Biology of the Extracellular Matrix: An Overview. J Glaucoma. 2014;23:S20-S23. doi:10.1097/IJG.0000000000000108.

9

Shupp J, McLawhorn M, Moffatt L. Fish Skin Compared to Cadaver Skin as a Temporary Coverage and Wound Bed Preparation for Full Thickness Burns: An Early Feasibility Trial. J Burn Care Res. 42:S124-S124. doi:doi:10.1093/jbcr/irab032.201