About the Burns Center

The Massachusetts General Hospital Sumner M. Redstone Burn Center provides innovative treatments and services for patients with burn injuries.

We are one of the largest adult burn centers in the northeast, treating hundreds of patients each year. We offer leading-edge therapies for acute thermal injuries, as well as innovative reconstructive procedures, psychiatric services and an in-house makeup service.

Mass General has provided burn treatments to patients since 1821. We helped usher in the modern era of burn care in 1942 in the aftermath of the disastrous Cocoanut Grove nightclub fire. Besides demonstrating the efficacy of a new approach to treating burn victims at the time, our physicians made important advances in recognizing and treating pulmonary injury.

The Mass General Division of Burns was founded in 1974. The Sumner M. Redstone Burn Center, dedicated in 1985, is named for Mr. Redstone, a generous contributor. The division members are responsible for leading the center's activities.

Expertise Along the Continuum of Care

The Sumner M. Redstone Burn Center at Massachusetts General Hospital is one of the few American Burn Association (ABA)-verified burn centers in New England. The ABA verification process requires us to meet stringent criteria, signifying our ability to provide optimal care to burn patients from the time of injury through rehabilitation. Because inpatient and outpatient care is available on the same floor, our multidisciplinary team can treat adult burn patients along the entire continuum of injury.

Our center maintains a strong working relationship with the nearby Shriners Hospital for Children, New England's only ABA-verified Pediatric Burn Center. Mass General burn surgeons provide care for patients at the Shriners Hospital for Children. As a result, our team is able to provide the full spectrum of burn treatments to patients of all ages and family members with thermal injuries can be treated in close proximity to one another.

Collaboration is the Key

We incorporate a team approach to caring for burn patients and their families. Our highly trained critical care intensivists lead an experienced and compassionate multidisciplinary team who are skilled in critical care medicine and nursing. We are one of the few burn services in the country with a dedicated staff psychiatrist to address the psychosocial needs of our patients.

Our Burn Center is comprises specialists throughout the hospital who work closely together to ensure that our patients benefit from expert care for their medical and social needs. The care team includes:

• Burn surgeons
• Plastic and burn reconstructive surgeons
• Emergency medicine physicians and staff
• A psychiatrist
• Nursing staff
• Nursing practitioners
• Nutritionists
• Chaplaincy
• Operating room staff
• Occupational therapy
• Physical therapy
• Speech-language pathology
• Social work

Our team provides education on the stabilization of acute thermal injuries to referring physicians from hospitals throughout the Northeast.

Meet the team

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Transfer Process

The ABA has established transfer guidelines for certain injuries that are best cared for in a burn center. Our goal is to make the transfer process a smooth one, ensuring that the patient receives the highest quality of care. To transfer a patient, simply call 800-678-BURN (800-678-1876).

An International Reputation for Innovative Treatments

The Sumner M. Redstone Burn Center has an international reputation for saving lives. Since opening in 1974, our center has cared for thousands of patients suffering flame, scald, chemical or electrical burns, as well as certain skin conditions such as Stevens-Johnson Syndrome or Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis (TEN).

Our Burn Center is also known for innovative contributions to the field of burn care, including:

• Early excision and grafting, pioneered by Dr. John Burke, the first medical director of the Burns Service
• Genetic response to thermal injury, pioneered by Ronald Tompkins, MD, former chief of the Burns Center
• The development of the artificial dermis (skin) Integra™ (in collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

As part of our current research efforts, we are exploring several areas, including:

• Inflammation and the host response to injury
• Inflammation and infection
• Wound healing
• Metabolism
• Biotechnology and bioengineering research