It takes only a few seconds for a child to receive a life-threatening burn, but it can take a lifetime to recover from the physical and emotional scarring. Principal burns surgeon Dr Fiona Wood leads a team of scientists and clinicians who've made 'scarless healing' their Holy Grail.
A significant step towards this goal is the revolutionary development of 'spray-on skin', in which the patient's own skin cells are harvested, grown in culture, and sprayed back on to the wound bed within a week of the initial injury. The speed of this process is having remarkable results.
But for 11-year-old Ben Smith, it's a different story. A petrol explosion two years ago burnt 60% of his skin surface and despite intensive treatment, his scarring is extensive and chaotic. And despite the best efforts of Dr Woods and her team, they have not been able to unravel the mystery of why it happens. The science of burns treatment has come a long way, but it's a journey only just begun.
PRODUCTION DETAILS:
An Electric Pictures production. Producer Andrew Ogilvie, Writer/Director Steve Westh. |
