Burn & Complex Wound Center
Burn Care at the Forefront
The University of Chicago Medicine Burn and Complex Wound Center is a specialized care program where patients who have sustained burn injuries or other severe wounds are treated by a unique, multidisciplinary team of experts.
Patients are cared for by a team of doctors, nurses and staff from plastic and reconstructive surgery, anesthesia and critical care. In addition to providing acute, life saving burn care, our unique multidisciplinary team has expertise in both reconstructive and critical care disciplines. Our plastic and reconstructive surgeons provide state-of-the-art surgical care to treat burns and complex wounds as well as burn scars and deformities.
Participation by nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy, social work, nutrition, respiratory therapy, child life therapy and pastoral care create an environment capable of providing expert comprehensive care for all of our patients. Additional critical care and surgery staff, as well as residents from anesthesia and surgery, participate in our round-the-clock patient care.
Our Burn Center is accredited by the American College of Surgeons and the American Burn Association. We have an eight-bed intensive care unit (ICU) dedicated to adult and pediatric burn patients. The Burn Center addresses all aspects of burns from transport to acute care to post-burn rehabilitation.
Our Burn Care Services
Children who suffer burn injuries have very specific emotional and psychological needs. Our child life specialists help children through hydrotherapy and dressing changes by providing distractions and introducing relaxation techniques. Through the use of teaching dolls, medical play and expressive therapies, child life specialists also help burn patients accept their injuries and develop a positive body image.
Our staff also participates in the annual Illinois Fire Safety Alliance Burn Camp, a summer program geared toward children with burn injuries.
The Burn Center is instrumental in creating a burn annex with the city of Chicago and state of Illinois disaster plan. And our Burn Center nurses educate local emergency rooms on burn injuries.
In addition to specialized clinical care, the Burn Center serves as a source for several ongoing research projects, including:
- Biology of scar formation and control
- Electrical trauma
- Molecular and cellular aspects of electrical injury
- Impact of nutritional supplements to wound healing
- Anesthetic pain management
- Pediatric pain control
- Aspects of pediatric post-traumatic stress disorder
Our Burn Center is unique in having an in-house child protective services (CPS), headed by doctors who specialize in assessing for potential cases of abuse and neglect. The CPS team and Burn Center team collaborate closely with the CPS team providing a link between the medical team and outside state agencies.
Burn Care Resource - Hand Splint
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Your child has been sent home with a positioning hand splint. This splint is meant to protect your child's hand, help maintain their hands use, and help keep their hand dressing intact after they've discharged from the hospital. This is important as it can help promote faster healing and reduce the risk of complications.
This splint is secured with an elastic wrap. The goal is to maintain the splint on your child's hand until he or she follows up in clinic. At this point, your therapist and related burn specialists will remove the splint and dressings and evaluate the progress of your child's hand and discuss next steps for you. They will educate you on what things to expect next for your child's healing.
When your child discharges home, you must check in to make sure the split is not causing any pressure and there are no fit related issues that can cause rubbing, worsening pain, or breakdown to the hand. If you notice any sudden changes, discoloration, swelling, increased pain, or notable drainage, please make sure to contact the burn team, and you will be told next steps.
To reapply the splint, you must first secure the splint with your provided elastic wrap. The goal is to anchor the splint at the wrist, all while making sure the fingers are placed in their appropriate locations, seen here. You will then gently secure the splint going upwards towards the fingers. This will allow for the fingers to lay flat in the splint and the thumb be positioned in its proper trough.
When coming along to the top, you will bring the elastic wrap through the space between the fingers and thumb, ensuring not to go too tight. Once the fingers are covered, you can then come back down and finish the elastic wrap back at the wrist. Proper fit will provide the best overall results and will likely speed up the recovery.
The splint should be worn as instructed at discharge, with special attention maintained in the hand dressings clean, dry, and intact until follow up. If you have any questions, please contact the burn team at 773-702-1000 and ask to speak with the burn team.
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