HRH The Duke of Sussex visits The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham Scar Center

In November 2018 The Countess of Wessex officially opened the new Scar Free World Centre, which is working to deliver scar free healing within a generation. More than 6,000 members of the British Armed Forces have been seriously injured or scarred in recent conflicts the Scar Free World Centre is ground-breaking national facility that aims to minimise the psychological and physical impact.

Tailored Treatments for Veterans 

The Duke of Sussex found out more about the Scar Free World Centre’s work piloting tailored psychological treatments to help seriously injured armed forces personnel cope with life with an altered, scarred appearance. HRH Prince Harry, visited the center as part of his ongoing work to support veterans. Among the new treatments being pioneered there was the world leading UltraPulse for C02 laser therapy to correct scars along with a pro-healing protein being developed within a new biomaterial gel.

Using the UltraPulse allows the Scar center to offer world leading patient outcomes delivering more powerful pulses than any other laser in its category, the UltraPulse reaches an unparalleled depth of 4mm in a single pulse, to treat and rehabilitate scars more effectively. With the smallest beam diameter and shortest pulse width, the UltraPulse delivers bursts of high energy at low densities that are ideal for a wide range of scar treatments.

The new center will support the creation of customized interventions to help veterans and their families adjust to living with scars. On his last stop before leaving, Harry dropped in on a workshop run by the UNITS study, which aims to better understand the psychological needs of military personnel affected by appearance-altering conflict wounds. The study hopes to recruit more than 200 participants and is being supported by veterans and members of the CASEVAC Club, which was formed by and for armed forces personnel wounded in recent conflicts.

‘It was a pleasure to present our work on transforming burn scarring to HRH The Duke of Sussex at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham Scar Center. Interest is growing in this remarkable treatment and the Duke was very impressed with our results’ – Mr Max Murison, Consultant Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon at The Welsh Regional Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery, Morriston Hospital, Swansea. Mr. Murison has a special interest in scar treatment, the NHS laser clinic in Swansea, set up in 1996, was the first to offer laser scar treatment with the DeepFX Laser in 2007 and now also offers the ScaarFX treatments using the UltraPulse. These treatments are provided on two sites in Swansea and at Neath Port Talbot Hospital.

Lumenis Solution for Scars 

The SCAAR FX™ mode penetrates up to 4 mm for effective treatment of complex and deep contracted lesions. The small beam diameter and exceptional ablation/coagulation ratio ensures effective results with minimal risk of thermal damage. Ability to perfectly tailor treatment to each scar type using advanced scanner technology that provides a wide choice of energy, shape, size and density. Lumenis also offers fractional ablative skin resurfacing for a range of scar types in the AcuPulse product, as well as fractional non-ablative skin resurfacing that is available with ResurFX™.

Eddie Campbell-Adams, Lumenis UK Country Manager commented, ‘It was great to meet HRH The Duke of Sussex at the Scar Free World Centre this week – he seemed very impressed with the work we do using the UltraPulse CO2 laser to transform the lives of those with life-affecting complex scars. UltraPulse is a unique and key tool in this work, and although becoming more wisely available, it was noted that it is not as yet available across the UK – something we are hoping to change over time’

To find out more about Scar Revision and how the Lumenis UltraPulse CO2 laser can offer effective treatment click here.

Photos Courtesy of James Allen.