Publication: Mortality and length of stay in elderly toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) patients

Ms Heather Cleland (left) with research nurses

Ms Heather Cleland, Director, Victorian Adult Burns Service (VABS), and team have reported that timely referral of TEN patients, particularly the elderly, to a burns unit or an intensive care unit equipped to care for these patients, should be encouraged.

Research: Investigating the biology of skin grafts for burns treatment

Heather Cleland's group in the Skin Culture Laboratory, Victorian Adult Burns Service and Department of Surgery, Monash University, The Alfred Hospital have found that cadaver skin which has been frozen has, on analysis, a "positive and definite role as an adjunct to conventional dressing and grafting where available, particularly in patients with large TBSA [total body surface area] burns." Tissue viability in cadaveric allograft may not be essential for its clinical function as a wound dressing or even as permanent dermal substitute.
Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24018216