100-bed Burns and Plastic Surgery block at AIIMS to become operational by year end

A 100-bed Burns and Plastic Surgery Block will become operational by the year end at the premier AIIMS to provide state-of-the-art care to burn victims.

The 10-storeyed building has been set up in the existing Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre complex, AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said Monday.

The block will house a 24X7 burn emergency ward, two ICUs with each of them having 15 beds, six operation theatres and a state-of-the-art shower jet bathing system.

"It would be a dynamic care centre with optimum healthcare services on treatment of burns and plastic surgery, for training doctors and conducting research on the field.

"The Burns and Plastic Surgery Block is likely to be operational by the end of the year," Dr Guleria said.

Dr Aarti Vij, a professor and the in-charge of 'Organ Retrieval banking Organisation' (ORBO) of AIIMS, said the independent facility will also have a skin bank for patients with severe burns and those who suffer damage during accident or surgery.

Patients suffering more than 50 per cent burns often require skin implantation and as part of the procedure, the skin from the wounded part is removed and replaced either with the patient's own skin or donated or artificial skin.

Once functional, it will be one of the largest government-run skin bank facility in North India.

Dr Maneesh Singhal, the head of the department of the plastics, reconstructive and burns surgery department at the AIIMS, said like one donates eye and other organs, one can donate their skins but because of lack of awareness and such facilities, the skin donation has not picked up, especially in northern India.

After a person dies, within six hours the skin can be taken and after that using special techniques it can be stored for a few years, he said.

"It will also have a laboratory for regenerative medicine for using artificial skin for the burn victims. The plastics, reconstructive and burns surgery department in collaboration with with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi has developed an 'artificial skin' which is currently under animal trial.

"Once the research is successful it will help bridge the gap in demand and supply of skin for burn victims," Dr Singhal.

The institute also plans to perform hand and face transplants in Delhi once the block becomes operational.

The AIIMS director also released the new issue of Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery (IJPS) on the National Plastic Surgery Day and said that there is a need to create awareness on the speciality as unfortunately most tier 2 cities and district hospitals still do not have the facility of burns and plastic medical treatment.