Burn Unit: Saving Lives After the Flames [Paperback]

Barbara Ravage (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0306814196 | ISBN-13: 978-0306814198 | Publication Date: May 3, 2005 | Edition: 1

“A compelling blend of science, history and storytelling. Barbara Ravage has fashioned an enlightening, invaluable book.” —Stewart O’Nan, author of The Circus Fire: A True Story of an American TragedyThough each of us is just a spark away from being a burn victim, the public knows little and understands less about the world that patients inhabit. Pulling the curtains back on this private and sterile environment, Burn Unit is a riveting account of the frontline efforts—both modern-day and historical—to save lives devastated by fire. With unflinching urgency, Barbara Ravage follows an extraordinary team of healers at Massachusetts General Hospital, the cradle of modern burn treatment and the site of one of the best burn units in the world. From Boston’s Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942 to the treatment of the victims of the Rhode Island nightclub fire in early 2003, we watch everyday heroes do their incredible but punishing work against the backdrop of history. Both a moving human drama and an engrossing scientific exploration of this little-known field of medicine, Burn Unit is an unforgettably powerful read.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Science writer Ravage delivers a fascinating and unflinching look behind the scenes at the nationally acclaimed burn unit of Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital. The reader is warned early on that the unit is "no place for the squeamish," and the book details numerous examples of the hard work that its doctors and nurses must perform, such as the excision of dead skin that "comes off like peels of rubber cement." But Ravage is never gratuitously graphic, and she displays solid research and reporting skills in presenting the historical and the personal sides of burn injuries. She provides an excellent historical context to the development of burn treatments, from Boston's infamous Cocoanut Grove fire of 1942 through last year's fire at a Rhode Island music club. She also uses the experiences of two former burn patients and their families (names changed at their request) to show in detail how doctors and nurses treat horrific burns. Her greatest success is in interweaving these two sides, such as her explanation of how ideas have evolved in the areas of respiratory injury, shock and the surface treatment of burn wounds, which brings the reader much closer to truly understanding what the patients endure. This is an enlightening look at an important area of hospital care.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From The New England Journal of Medicine

Burn Unit is a well-written, ingenious book on the cause of burns and the pathophysiology and clinical course of patients who have sustained severe burn injury. The author describes the "burn disease" through the clinical care of two patients: one had a rather small, partial-thickness injury of 10 percent of the body that involved the face and hands, and the other had a moderately severe burn of 35 percent and required skin grafting of the face and upper extremities. Each chapter describes the clinical care of the two patients and includes the thoughts and concerns of family members as well as those of the members of the burn team. These personal aspects are preceded or followed by detailed and accurate descriptions of the history and pathophysiology of resuscitation after burn shock, infection, wound healing, and other topics. These sections are written informally, but the details are accurate, informative, and enjoyable to read, and they flow smoothly from the care of the two patients to the science of burn disease. Although Burn Unit describes care at the Burn and Trauma Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the author repeatedly describes the controversies associated with the management of the burn injuries and the alternatives to the treatment that each patient received. This is not a "burn survivor" book but, rather, a well-written textbook on burn injuries. Because the information is presented in an understandable, detailed way, it would be well worth reading not only by all members of a burn team but also by burn victims and their families. The history of burns, as presented here, is remarkably detailed and comprehensive, and this alone makes the book worth reading. Essentially, Burn Unit is a textbook written from the perspectives of the patient, the family, and the members of the burn team. It should become required reading for new as well as experienced burn specialists. Glenn D. Warden, M.D.
Copyright © 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Da Capo Press; 1 edition (May 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0306814196
• ISBN-13: 978-0306814198
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 6.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #456,672 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars FROM A BURN PATIENT'S SPOUSE TO ANYONE, September 26, 2005

By 

Miami Bob "Resurgent Reading" (Miami, FL United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Burn Unit: Saving Lives After The Flames (Hardcover)

On August 3, my wife was burned in central Anatolia. On August 15, we med-vaced her to the United States. On September 1, I bought this book. On September 20, I received the book. I was so rapt by the writing that I finished this book in two days. Understand, my wife was in the hospital at the time. Reading was not a priority. I visited my wife daily while I ran a family and my own business.

Sometimes a writer's capabilities can so overwhelm the topic. A good writer can make the worst topics readable. Burns, sores, sepsis, pain, and scars are what I neither care to read about nor wish others to read about. The sterile black ink on the white pages cannot deliver the sensations to you of the stench associated with the dead skin, nor show you the grotesque complexity of the red and yellow skin which bleeds easily and often.

I no more would ask a person to experience what my family has lived the past few months, than I would ask them to clean my plumbing. Burns are a horrible topic which Ms. Ravage has managed to make less horrible.

I used this book for something more than enjoyment. The doctors' mouths, often as clasped as the arteries of their surgical patients, tell little to the patients' family, and when they speak, the language is too often cliched with inexplicables and nondeterminatives. This book answered questions, told me what to look forward to, and outlined what to anticipate. This was my "Burn Patients' Questions for Dummies." But, written well.

I cringed. I cried. I swallowed hard. And, at times, I had to leave the book. The writng and insight were as razor sharp as the scalpels discussed and referenced in the portion discussing grafting.

Good work Ms. Ravage! You helped a great deal. I can only tell others in my predicament, read this book. And, after you read the book, you will feel better about what there is looming in the slowly progressing and little discussed world of burns.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An inside look at a place we hope we'll never see..., November 8, 2005

By 

Just another Stephanie "Stephanie" (Somewhere in Illinois) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burn Unit: Saving Lives After The Flames (Hardcover)

Before reading this,I knew very little about burns and burn care, other than they were messy, smelly, painful and left terrible scars. This book covers the burn treatment floor, Bigelow 13, at Mass General, one of the best burn units in the country. Very informative, if a little boring in places. At times, the author goes into long biological speeches about layers of skin and how they regrow and blah blah blah blah blah . It can read like a high school anatomy book- not exactly something that captures one's attention for long periods of time. But the rest of it- the explanation of procedures, case histories and daily routines of a burn unit- was fascinating.

Recommended, but get some coffee for the slow parts, and DO NOT eat while reading this book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Accurate, Insightful, Informative and well researched., December 19, 2004

By 

pedxing (Cambridge, MA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Burn Unit: Saving Lives After The Flames (Hardcover)

Ms. Ravage's book focuses on the Burn Unit at Mass General Hospital, but in the course of providing the context for the current Burn Unit she weaves together several narratives. First, she offers an informative and well-written account of the history of burns and burn treatment from ancient times to modern. Additionally she describes the course of the severe burn injury, the series of shocks severe burns provide to the system and the medical interventions that have been developed in order to allow the burn patient to survive these shocks. Tied to her medical-scientific discussion are profiles of the people who make the Burn Unit work, and accounts of two patients who were treated by them. These case studies are based in large part on interviews with the patients and their families.

As a Burn Survivor who spent two months in the MGH Burn Unit not long after this book came out, I can vouch for its accuracy in depicting the unit, the staff, the course of treatment and many of the key issues facing burn survivors. Not everything I have read on the topic has held my interest, but this book did.