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Hidalgo vélez, plastic surgeon AT THE SAN VICENTE BURN UNIT foundation
In the Burns Unit, Dr. Hidalgo decides if a patient continues to heal, should undergo surgery or if it does not require a hospital stay and can continue treatment at home. “I always liked trauma surgery. I was struck by the possibility of rebuilding all the structures. Many times you go into surgery without knowing what you are going to find. Thinking hot was one of the things that most caught my attention about plastic surgery. In the case of patients injured by gunpowder, many times it is not possible to plan, but simply to make decisions intraoperatively, trying to provide the patient with the best surgical option, seeking the best functional results and reducing the possibility of scars ”, he says . It ensures that the complete destruction of the tissue represents a great challenge from a reconstructive point of view. Among the most difficult areas to reconstruct are the face, genitals, hands, and feet. “Those patients always require management in the hospital.” Vélez says that gunpowder injuries, in some cases, require up to five surgeries, not counting the interventions that are carried out in the future to recover the functional part. Remember the case of a man who was burned twice with gunpowder. “In December, he consulted for gunpowder burns on his right hand, his dominant one, that of the sustenance of his house. We had to amputate some of his fingers. The most striking thing of all was that the following year he returned, again with gunpowder burns on the same hand, and we had to amputate other fingers ”.
Laura Castaño, Head Nurse OF THE BURN CHILD’S UNIT
The head nurse met a burned person for the first time when she began working in the Unit, which she arrived at six years ago. “One does not measure how big and how serious a burn can be. It’s a real thing, very hard, ”he says.
She does the healing for the injured. He reports that he must sedate some patients because the procedure is painful. His job is to monitor the evolution of burns. He also states that his profession is “one of the most beautiful, because there is a lot of contact with the patient.” Upon arriving at the Unit, a job she had not imagined being in, the strength of the children impressed her. “It was a surprise to see children so burned, but so strong, so brave … When one performs a procedure on them, they are afraid, they cry, but at the end of the day they understand why things are being done to them. I find it very nice. The children are very grateful and they are very handsome, it is like another world ”.
Castaño notes that his patients were generally playing outside when they were injured by gunpowder. He comments that he sees the feeling of guilt in the parents and in that sense he hopes that his difficult experience will be the starting point to learn and contribute to the education of more homes. Among his achievements are “reaching the hearts of patients and their families,” seeing the healing processes and educating about the dangers of handling gunpowder. It also encourages you to know that it helps heal the “wounds of the soul.”
liliana arango, physiotherapist WHO CARES FOR burned people
When asked about a challenge, the physiotherapist responds that she would like to have more time with her patients, encouraging them to do activities. She is present in both the hospital and outpatient stages. In addition to participating in the healing, he has the goal that patients maintain their independence in self-care and their function as before, “despite the fact that they will have scars or sequelae.”
Arango teaches those injured by gunpowder about what he calls positioning the burned area. He explains how this area should be in order for it to be as functional as possible in the future. He addresses mobility exercises to avoid swelling — normal in the initial stage — and encourages his patients to return to daily activities and to do so with their affected area. “We provide support during the rehabilitation process of all activities of daily life, from bathing and brushing teeth,” he says. How to manage the scar (when and how to use the garments that prevent it from thickening), how to perform massages, how to hydrate the skin, and apply creams and sunscreen. Liliana answers all the questions that arise when life gives a new opportunity.
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