Lasers can be used to process DVD and bar code information, and measure speed and distance. But in the medical field, they are helping improve the lives of the D.C. region’s burn victims.
“We are reaching a milestone of 1,000 laser scar revision procedures performed at our Burn Center,” said Dr. Taryn Elise Travis, a burn surgeon at MedStar Washington Hospital Center, which houses the region’s only burn center.
“We’re just delighted to be able to say that we’ve put this program together and have been able to help so many patients live happier, fuller lives since their burn injury,” she said.
Travis is also an assistant professor of surgery at the Georgetown University School of Medicine.
Living with scarring caused by burns involves more than cosmetic concerns.
“Burn scars can be completely life-altering for our patients; they create pain, itch, psychological distress; they are tight; they limit people’s motion; they keep them up at night; they keep them from returning to work and school,” she said.
The use of lasers on burn scars is a relatively recent development. MedStar Washington Hospital Center got its laser in fall 2016 through philanthropic funds.
“It’s so exciting for us. It used to be that we had to tell patients there wasn’t anything we could do in the first year after their burn injury, that they just had to deal with their scars and their symptoms and wait it out,” Travis said.
“So, to be able to provide burn care now, and have a tool that I can offer people shortly after they’ve left the hospital with a burn injury, is life-changing — both for the patients and for myself to be able to look at our patients and say to them, ‘I have something that I can offer you that will make things better; let’s try it.'”
Treating burn scars frequently takes multiple sessions; the thousandth-procedure milestone has involved some 300 patients. The procedure is relatively painless and quick.
“The idea that you can come in, do a quick procedure that takes all of 20 minutes and go home the same day and have results and improvement in your life quickly is just a really life-changing thing for our patients,” Travis said.
You can learn more about how lasers treat injured skin on the MedStar Health website.
