Navigating
MyCare

Hydrotherapy room

Once the patient is admitted to the burn centre, if needed, they will be taken to the hydrotherapy room. This is the room where the patient's wounds are initially assessed and cleansed as necessary. Here, the patient receives a full physical examination to assess the extent of their injuries.

Mechanical Ventilator

If you have difficulty breathing or suffered smoke inhalation or burns to the neck, you may need a machine to help you breathe (ventilate). A tube connected to the ventilator is placed through either the nose or mouth to reach your lungs.

Intravenous (IV) Line

An IV line can be used to deliver medication and to replace fluids directly into your bloodstream.

Nasogastric (NG) Tube

An NG tube is inserted through the nose into the stomach. This tube can be used to give you food and medications.

Dressings

After your wounds are cleaned, dressings are applied over the burned areas. Dressings act as a protective barrier to keep the wound clean and help the healing process.

Debridement

Debridement is when thin layers of dead tissue are removed from the wound. Doing this reduces the chances of developing an infection and helps the healing process. Depending on the depth of the burn, the wound may or may not require bandages or skin grafting.

Skin grafts

Once a wound is cleaned and debrided it needs to have a protective barrier. This might involve dressings at the beginning, but deeper burns might require a skin graft. A skin graft is necessary when a wound is too large or deep to heal on its own. There are two types of skin grafts: allografting and autografting. There could be many surgeries depending on the size of the wound and healing process.

Allografting

Allografting is temporary wound coverage if the wound needs more time to heal or if there is not enough healthy tissue available. Allografting uses donated skin from deceased donors (cadaver skin) through organ donation and acts as a protective barrier until your own skin can be used.

Autografting

Autografting is when your own healthy skin is taken in a thin layer from other areas of your body (known as a donor site) and applied onto the wound. This surgery can be completed as a first step if the wound is ready to receive your healthy skin tissue, or completed as a second step to replace the temporary wound coverage (allograft). Your own skin is required to close your wounds.

Escharotomy or fasciotomy

In response to the burn injury, the body may swell, causing the skin to be tight and making it difficult for blood to circulate. To fix this, surgical incisions are required to either the burned area or another part of the body that might have swelled. These incisions are called an escharotomy or fasciotomy. An escharotomy is a surgical incision through the first and second layers of burned skin. A fasciotomy is a deeper surgical incision beyond the first and second layers of skin and into muscle. Further surgery to close the incisions might be needed.

Allografting

Allografting is temporary wound coverage if the wound needs more time to heal or if there is not enough healthy tissue available. Allografting uses donated skin from deceased donors (cadaver skin) through organ donation and acts as a protective barrier until your own skin can be used.

Autografting

Autografting is when your own healthy skin is taken in a thin layer from other areas of your body (known as a donor site) and applied onto the wound. This can be done in one step if the wound is ready or done as a second step to replace the temporary wound coverage (allograft). Your own skin is required to close your wounds.

Superficial burn

A superficial burn (also known as a first-degree burn) involves the top layer of skin and can usually be treated without surgery.

Partial thickness burn

A partial thickness burn (also known as a second-degree burn) involves the top layer of skin and part of the second layer of skin.

Full thickness burn

A full thickness burn (also known as a third-degree burn) involves the first and second layer of skin and might go deeper into the tissue.