New lasers mean closer to home treatment for QVH patients

More than 1000 burns patients will be able to have life-changing treatment closer to home thanks to a £400,000 investment on state of the art laser equipment at QVH – making us the only hospital across Sussex, Surrey and Kent to be able to offer this treatment on site.

Currently patients that need laser treatment to reduce redness, itching, and tightness on their scarring have to go into London or Essex, but the introduction of the new equipment at QVH means they can continue to have their care delivered by the team they know best.

For patients like Emily Fairbrass it means she can have the treatment she needs at the place she calls her ‘second home.’

Emily, 30, suffered burns to her head, neck and face, when her long fair hair caught alight on an aromatic candle she had lit to take away the smell of the roast chicken she was cooking. It was the day before her 25^th birthday, in December 2019.

Emily said: “I was going out for the day and was cooking the chicken ready for when I got back later and wanted the candle to take away the smell. I was at home alone with my dog Cooper. I bent down to do something and all of a sudden I was on fire. I didn’t really know what had happened.

“I tried to put the flame out with water from the tap, but I just couldn’t. I then ran outside and a neighbour put the flames out.”

Emily was taken to Medway Hospital by ambulance and was then transferred to QVH.

She had sustained a 7% flame burn to her face and neck and scalp, and was initially treated at QVH and underwent a skin graft. But she has had to go further afield from her home in Kent to get the laser treatment she needs.

Emily said: “The treatment I have had here over the years has been incredible, they have made such a difference.

“I have been going to Chelsea and Westminster from home in Kent and that can take two hours so to now be able to have my treatment here with people I really know is amazing for me. It feels like a family and we have a great bond between us all. It’s like a second home to me.”

Paul Drake, Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, who has treated Emily: “When you have a burn it is life changing and it can be a long journey for people who have suffered a burn to get back in to society.

“Lasers make such a difference because they improve appearance, reduce tightness and this has a huge positive impact on the patient. It can be positively life-changing.

“Emily had burns to her head, face and neck and we have treated her all along but have been unable to do the final stages – the lasers. Now we can and hope to complete the journey which for all of us is great.”

Of the two lasers, the pulsed dye laser can help to improve scars by reducing the redness and inflammation which also helps improve symptoms of itch or discomfort.  These symptoms can affect a person’s daily life impacting on sleep and other functional tasks.

The CO2 laser encourages the production of new collagen which improves the scar’s appearance.  Tight scars can reduce movement in a joint and impact on day to day living. Where there is a tightening of scar tissue the laser can be used to promote new healing with normal collagen fibres which leads to a softer scar and improved movement.

Abigail Jago, Acting Chief Executive Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, added: “It is really great that we are able to offer the laser treatments at our hospital, so that Emily, and patients like her, can have the treatment they need closer to home, by the people they want to deliver it. We are delighted that we can improve our service offer as the only hospital across the whole of Sussex, Surrey, and Kent, to have these lasers.”