Montana has no dedicated center for children with severe injuries. Neither do the Dakotas or Wyoming, which leaves a family two options: drive hundreds of miles out of state, or find a surgeon willing to take the case nearby.
Dr. Katrina Weaver, pediatric surgeon at Logan Health Children's Hospital in Kalispell, built her practice around the second option. She joins host Brad Wiggins to walk through her use of Imbed Biosciences' SAMatrix™ (Synthetic Antimicrobial Matrix) products, Pelashield® and Pelashield® PainGuard®, and to explain what changed in pediatric wound care once the harsh ingredients that stalled healing gave way to earlier grafting and real attention to the anxiety dressing changes create.
Through cases involving a teenage girl's boiling water burn, a Marine brought to his knees by a flame burn, a degloving injury from a boat grommet, and NICU stoma closures, Dr. Weaver describes what recovery looked like for each: a sweet sixteen the girl did not miss, a father throwing a baseball with his son the same day, a wound that healed without another debridement, and clean scars with no infections.
Hear why she no longer prescribes narcotics for these cases, how long the lidocaine in Pelashield® PainGuard® holds pain down during a dressing change, and whether she believes zero infections is a realistic bar for wound care.
Questions answered by this episode- How do you treat pediatric burns in a state with no burn center?
- What is Imbed's SAMatrix™ Technology and how does Pelashield® adhere to the wound bed?
- How long does the lidocaine in Pelashield® PainGuard® actually provide pain relief?
- Can pediatric wound care be done without narcotics?
- Does SAMatrix™ Technology work on degloving injuries and NICU stoma closures?
- How often do you reapply Pelashield® and Pelashield® PainGuard®?
- Is a goal of zero wound infections actually realistic?
- Why does anxiety matter as much as pain in pediatric dressing changes?
GUESTSKatrina Weaver, MDDr. Katrina Weaver is a pediatric surgeon at Logan Health Children's Hospital in Kalispell, Montana, where she cares for children whose families would otherwise travel hundreds of miles for burn and complex wound treatment. She previously served as director of pediatric burns at USA Health. Dr. Weaver completed medical school at the University of Utah, general surgery residency at the University of South Alabama, and fellowships in surgical critical care and pediatric surgery at Children's Mercy in Kansas City.
About Brad Wiggins, BSN, RN, CBRNBrad Wiggins, BSN, RN, CBRN served patients for over three decades as a burn unit nurse before transitioning to clinical education. Today, as Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Imbed Biosciences, he's dedicated to advancing standards of care to help burn and wound care clinicians achieve better outcomes for patients.
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About Zero ZoneZero Zone brings together the people at the forefront of burn and wound care for conversations about the future of tissue regeneration and SAMatrix™ (Synthetic Antimicrobial Matrix) Technology.With Brad Wiggins, longtime burn unit nurse turned clinical educator, surgeons, trauma specialists, and wound care teams share how they're reducing complications and improving patient outcomes.Hear discussion and analyses of real cases where SAMatrix™ Technology made the difference: what worked, what didn't, and how protocols are evolving to reduce opioids, get patients moving sooner, and how the burn care community is on a collective mission to achieve zero complications, together.
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Zero Zone is a production of The Axis: theaxis.io