The 49-year-old worker who suffered severe burns in an accident at voestalpine last Saturday was in stable condition on Tuesday. However, several weeks can pass before he is out of danger.
As reported, the Bosnian was standing on a makeshift cover during dismantling work when he lost his balance and fell into a 450 degree hot zinc bath. Workers present pulled the critically injured man out. He was flown by helicopter to the Vienna General Hospital, where he is being treated in the intensive care unit for those with severe burns.
Lengthy process
Around 70 to 80 patients per year are cared for there. Burns are serious injuries that cause a variety of problems, says Christine Radtke, the medical director of this special ward. “When patients lose a lot of skin, they no longer have a barrier. They cool down, lose fluids, and the circulation becomes unstable.”
Severely burned skin must be removed and transplanted. However, an operation is only possible once the patient has been stabilized. Until then, one of the things that counts is to prevent inflammation because the skin lacks a barrier against germs.
A transplant is the process of removing healthy skin from the patient’s body. This is used to cover the burned areas. “If 80 percent of a patient’s skin is burned, the remaining 20 percent are not enough to cover it,” says Radtke. “That means we superficially take a piece of healthy skin, cover a burned area with it, wait until the healthy skin has grown back and start again.” A lengthy process that results in patients spending several weeks or even months in the hospital.
Psychological care
In addition to physical problems, there are also mental problems: “The patients first have to be slowly introduced to their new appearance. That is why we have no mirrors,” explains Radtke. In addition, many patients have to deal with the trauma of their accident. That is why those affected receive psychological care, and there is interdisciplinary cooperation on the ward. “It is our goal,” says Radtke, “that the patients can slowly slide back into a normal life.”
Source: Nachrichten
