Burns are a common injury. The exact prevalence is difficult to know, as many people will not seek medical advice. But we do know that around 13,000 people in the UK require hospital attention from specialist burns services. And burns can cause a range of complications from scarring to sepsis to psychological trauma. So it is important that we get the management of burns right. To find out more details about this problem and what we can do about it, please do listen to his podcast interview with Professor Rob Sheridan, Associate Professor of Surgery, Harvard Medical School. Competing interests: none