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According to Dhia Sharif, consultant orthopaedic surgeon at the hospital, this successful case is just one of a number the hospital has had with this method, which involves extracting collagen from a piscean swim bladder – the organ a fish inflates to provide buoyancy. As the major structural protein in the connective tissue of animal skin and bone, collagen provides, through its triple-helix cell structure, a natural "scaffold" for new tissue. Piscean collagen (commonly from the bladder of a freshwater carp) can be applied either in particle form, called Helisorb, or as thin sheets and membranes. What's more, because collagen is biodegradable, there is no danger of the healing tissue being pulled off when the dressing is removed.

As yet this treatment, developed in India in 2010, is not universally available. It is deemed by the NHS Commissioning Board to be "emerging innovative thinking that may have the potential to form future programmes of work".

In the meantime, its wound-healing benefits are being documented by a variety of practitioners. At Great Ormond Street Hospital, it is used in the treatment of a violent skin disorder called Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB), which manifests itself in large, open sores. As well as a reduction in pain and bleeding, treatment with piscean collagen has resulted in "the healing of wounds which have been present for several years", according to Jacqueline Denyer, a clinical nurse specialist there.

A 2012 review in the journal Wounds UK also suggests it has benefits. The four authors – one of them Gaby de Luca, a clinical fellow in plastic surgery at St Thomas's Hospital in London – note there is anecdotal evidence for the effectiveness of piscean collagen in treating diabetic and pressure-sore ulcers. And they conclude that the method "has the potential to improve healing rates, reduce symptoms and improve quality of life while reducing long-term healthcare costs".

Fish-sourced collagen also comes without the drawbacks of animal-related collagens, in particular pig collagen, to which some patients object on cultural or religious grounds. Most of us already ingest piscean products in the form of powdered swim bladder, or isinglass, as it is known in the drinks industry. Its primary use? To filter wine and make it look less cloudy.