Reports: Girl in theatre for groundbreaking operation

2012-06-11 19:04

A box containing the newly-harvested skin that will be used in the operation of Pippie Kruger, 3. She is expected to undergo a groundbreaking operation at the Garden City Clinic in Johannesburg. (Pauli van Wyk, Twitter)

Johannesburg - Burn-victim, 3-year-old Pippie Kruger, reportedly was in theatre at the Garden City Clinic on Monday night for a groundbreaking operation where surgeons will graft skin grown in a laboratory in the US onto her back, face, chest, arms and legs.

The toddler from Lephalale, Limpopo, sustained third degree burns to 80% of her body at a braai in December.

The 41 pieces of skin, which were grown in a laboratory in Boston, Massachusetts, in the US, arrived at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport in Monday afternoon.

The skin, which has to kept at a temperature of 2°C to 8°C,  only has a 24-hour shelf life and the flight from Boston to South Africa took 21 hours.