Forty years of the burn service at the Department of Dermatology in Debrecen

Abstract

For decades the burn patients have been treated at dermatological institutions worldwide, due to the similarities of the burns to certain blistering dermatological conditions. Another explanation was the routine of these clinics  in the conservative treatment of wounds and general care of patients with extensive skin defects. Later on, together with more knowledge about the pathomechanism of burns and as the operative treatment became dominant, complex burn care was provided by specialized burn departments. Thanks to these developments, most burn care institutions nowadays are either autonomous centers or departments closely associated with traumatology, intensive care, surgical, pediatric surgical, or plastic surgery clinics. In Debrecen, the second profile is dermatologic surgery, which is now a unique combination, so the burn service is provided by the Department of Dermatology. Since its inauguration in 1983, the department introduced an active, operational burns treatment strategy. In the past forty years it pioneered several ground breaking therapeutic approaches, such as fluidization therapy, negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT), biotechnological wound coverage with keratinocyte suspension and sheets, dermal substitution with Alloderm®, Integra®, etc. Thanks to the continuous improvement of the instrumentation of the burn ward and the specific intensive care unit, it became possible to successfully treat patients with extensive deep burn wounds as well as dermatological crisis situations requiring intensive support. The department has remarkable international connections and scientific publication activities. Despite unfavorable tendencies of the most recent years, reducing the work force of both doctors and related professionals, the burn unit in Debrecen is keen on providing continuous, up to date, high quality
professional service to burn patients of our region.