The Birmingham Burn Centre archive: A photographic history of post-war burn care in the United Kingdom.
The Medical Research Council Burns and Industrial Injuries Unit at the Birmingham Accident Hospital pioneered civilian burn care and research in the United Kingdom during the post-war years. A photographic archive has been discovered that documents this period from 1945 to 1975. The aim of this project was to sort, digitize and archive the images in a secure format for future reference. The photographs detail the management of burns patients, from injury causation and surgical intervention, to nursing care, rehabilitation and long-term follow-up. A total of 2650 images files were collected from over 600 patients. Many novel surgical, nursing, dressing and rehabilitation strategies are documented and discussed. We have chosen to report part of the archive under the sections of (1) aseptic and antimicrobial burn care; (2) burn excision and wound closure; (3) rehabilitation, reconstruction and long-term outcomes; (4) accident prevention; and (5) response to a major burns incident. The Birmingham collection gives us a valuable insight into the approach to civilian burn care in the post-war years, and we present a case from the archive to the modern day, the longest clinical photographic follow-up to date.
The Healing Foundation Centre for Burns Research, West Midlands Regional Burns Centre, University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, New Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2WB, UK; Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6NH, UK; School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK. Electronic address: j.hardwicke@bham.ac.uk.
Joseph
J
Hardwicke
School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Angus
A
Kohlhardt
The Healing Foundation Centre for Burns Research, West Midlands Regional Burns Centre, University Hospitals of Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, New Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Mindelsohn Way, Birmingham B15 2WB, UK; Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Steelhouse Lane, Birmingham B4 6NH, UK; School of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, The Medical School, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK.
Naiem
N
Moiemen
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001109:Archives; D001458:Bandages; D002053:Burn Units / Q000266:history*; D002056:Burns / Q000628:therapy*; D003646:Debridement; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D010781:Photography; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D006113:United Kingdom
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents
Antibiotics; Archive; Birmingham; Burns; History; Surgery