About the Ross Tilley Burn Centre

The Ross Tilley Burn Centre is a state-of-the-art facility providing tertiary care for the majority of burn injury patients in Ontario. We are the only program in the province that provides a wide range of services, from admission to follow-up and reconstructive surgery. We are the largest burn centre in Canada and admit an average of 300 patients annually. We are equipped with a dedicated intensive care unit and operating room. We are home to the only tissue bank in Ontario that stores temporary skin to treat major burn injuries. We also care for patients with large and complex wounds.

We admit every burn patient in Ontario who requires admission to a burn centre; this is crucial to burn care and avoids referral or transport delays across the province. Approximately 30 per cent of patients treated at the burn centre come from the Greater Toronto Area, and 70 per cent come from other areas of Ontario.

The Ross Tilley Burn Centre was the first burn centre in Canada and the second outside the United States to be verified by the American Burn Association. Burn Centre Verification is a joint program of the American Burn Association (ABA) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS). Verification provides a true mark of distinction that a burn meets rigorous standards and indicates that the centre provides high quality patient care to burn patients from time of injury through rehabilitation.

Our history

Our burn centre was named in honour of Dr. A. Ross Tilley, a Canadian plastic surgeon who was a pioneer in the field of burns and plastic surgery. Dr. Tilley was born in 1904 in Bowmanville, Ontario. He attended medical school at the University of Toronto and graduated as a silver medalist in 1929. He trained in surgery in Toronto, New York and Edinburgh and finally opened a private practice at the Toronto Western and The Wellesley hospitals in 1935.

During World War II, Dr. Tilley served in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) medical service as Principal Medical Officer and spent most of his time at the RCAF Headquarters in the United Kingdom. In 1942, Dr. Tilley transferred to Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, Sussex where he worked alongside Sir Archibald McIndoe, another surgical pioneer. Due to the increased number of Canadian casualties, a Canadian wing was built. Dr. Tilley was a leader in planning of the wing. In 1944, he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his leadership in pioneering new techniques for treating burns.

After the war, Dr. Tilley returned to Canada as a highly skilled burn surgeon and practiced surgery in Kingston and Toronto at The Wellesley Hospital and Sunnybrook Hospital where he became known as an innovative surgeon, and was revered as a humanitarian and a great teacher. In 1982, he was honoured with the Order of Canada for his leadership and contributions to Canadian plastic surgery.

Dr. Ross Tilley envisioned an adult burn treatment centre in the Toronto area and launched an intensive campaign, led by Drs. W.R.N. Lindsay, Leith Douglas and Tilley himself in the late 1970’s and early 1980’s. Their efforts, combined with the enthusiastic committee of the board of Wellesley Hospital, convinced the Ministry of Health that the concept was valid. Their successful campaign led to the building of the original burn centre in The Wellesley Hospital, which was named in honour of Dr. Ross Tilley for his work and dedication in this field. The Centre officially opened on April 18, 1984.

In 1998, as part of healthcare restructuring, the Ross Tilley Burn Centre became part of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and moved from The Wellesley Central site of St. Michaels’ Hospital to the Sunnybrook campus on December 5, 1998.

Our team

A comprehensive burn program provides exceptional care. Our patient care team is made up of a group of highly skilled health-care professionals. This includes: burn surgeons, nurses, a pharmacist, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, a physiatrist (rehabilitation physician), respiratory therapists, dietitian, social worker, speech language pathologist, psychiatry, geriatric physician, critical care physicians and other support staff.