Loyola Chicago doctors treat severe child burn victims with new technology
CHICAGO (CBS) – A passionate team of doctors at Loyola Medicine's Burn Center cares for children who've experienced severe burns.
Such an injury can be the most painful and devastating injury for children, both physically and emotionally. Loyola's team of doctors is helping kids and their families get through the toughest times they've ever faced.
In one case, a family was on what was a "typical camping experience," something they've done for years, according to Desiree Lehr. She said they were sitting around a campfire, a cinderblock fire pit that was "very open."
That's when Lehr's daughter, Rhyann "just tripped and went straight in, face first," she said.
The fall left little Rhyann with third-degree burns that covered 30% of her body.
"She was so sick that she wasn't herself," Lehr said. "She wasn't trying to get out of bed."
It happened just days before Rhyann's fourth birthday.
"I thought that I'd be teaching her how to do cartwheels, not walking again," Lehr said.
Rhyann spent last summer covered in bandages and confined to her hospital bed at the intensive care unit at Loyola's Burn Center.
"Rhyann, when she first appeared, was critically ill," said Dr. John Kubasiak, an assistant professor of surgery at Loyola. "We weren't even able to provide reasonable pictures of what three, six, 12 months could look like."
But nearly a year later, and after countless surgeries with Kubasiak and his team, they're just watching and treating her scars.
"The approach to a burn in a child is totally different than an adult because what I'm thinking about is not, 'How do I get this to heal?' but, 'How do I get this to heal in a way that will work for them five years from now when they're growing?'" said Dr. Joshua Carson.
Carson leads the Loyola Burn Center, which treats more than 4,000 children each year.
"Our job is to get them back to their job, which is being a kid," he said.
To accomplish that more quickly than ever, the burn center is using a fairly new spray-on skin technology for severe burns called recell.
"We take a small piece of skin and we basically dissolve it," Carson said. "And you make it into a spray and spray it over the skin."
With the spray, the burns heal in half the time as with skin grafts, which has helped Rhyann recover better and faster.
The burn center takes a team approach, so the patients are not just seeing their doctors. They're seeing occupational therapists, physical therapists. They also work with psychologists and support groups are available to them.
"Really the best type of humanity, you see a group of people who pour their souls into these very difficult cases," Carson said.
Lehr commended the Loyola doctors. "They know her name. They know her story. They know her journey," she said.
In Rhyann's month at the burn center before moving to rehab, there were Disney days and superhero capes, unicorns, and festive farewells. Carson said he can tell when kids get better when they start to play.
Lehr said it was amazing to see how much her daughter has grown.
"You just kinda watch all these pieces put back together," she said.
And the Loyola team will continue walking with her on her journey, along with so many other children, for years to come.
"That's incredibly rewarding and the reason to come back to work everyday," Kubasiak said.
When asked what his favorite pat of the burn center's work was, Carson said, "There is nothing more amazing than the way kids recover."
He added, "Kids don't feel sorry for themselves and they have every right to when they have these injuries and they just look for the next way to have fun."
Loyola's Burn Center treats patients of all ages with all types of burns. As for Rhyann, even though she'll be treated for years to come, her doctors said she's exceeded all of their expectations.