Med Burn Center Treats Explosion Victims

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Three of the four victims from the Kilgore plant burn are recovering at the Regional Medical Center Wednesday. At last check, they were all in critical condition at the burn center, the only center of its kind in this region.

Medical Director Dr. William Hickerson sat down with FOX13 between surgeries Wednesday to explain more about burn injuries, treating them, and the importance of early intervention. By law, he's not allowed to speak to us about any of the patients' conditions, but he did talk openly about what happens inside the burn center.

FOX 13 goes inside the intake area at the burn center at the Regional Medical Center. Empty now, but on Tuesday, three people who were brought in, after being air-lifted to Memphis from Toone, Tennessee, after an explosion at the Kilgore plant.

"When they first come through we take a look at what's burned, what we're going to need to be doing, where we're going to need to take our skin from. We save areas that are going to be very important for the face and the hands," said Dr. Hickerson.

Dr. William Hickerson is the medical director at this highly specialized care clinic that sees more than 300 patients annually. He says the burn itself is probably one of the most devastating injuries a person can suffer because it affects all other parts of the body.

"So their lungs become a problem, we have to look at that. Internal organs can be damaged, their liver, their spleen, their intestines," said Dr. Hickerson.

Another challenge for the staff is the delicate hourly evaluation of the fluid levels in these patients.

"We walk a tight rope trying to make sure they get just the right amount for their kidneys and their heart, but at the same time, they don't get too much that will give them problems from a heart or lung standpoint," said Dr. Hickerson.

The three victims from Hardeman County are 26-year old Erica Jarrett, Jewel Jarret, and Trina Jones. They could all be looking at combined injuries, and longer recovery times.

"For people that are involved in explosions, we've got to know what the explosion was, was it a force that blew them away from the area they were standing or sitting because with that they can have internal injuries as well," said Dr. Hickerson.

Patients don't have the ability to control or maintain any body temperature because they've lost their outer layer of skin, so most areas in the burn center are kept at high temperatures.

"When we go to the operating room, they're exposed. We have everything open. We're taking off dead skin; we're going to take new skin from areas that haven't been damaged," said Dr. Hickerson.

One obstacle Hickerson describes is making sure he has enough skin available to use to get the damaged area covered again. Sometimes, it requires harvesting healthy skin cells to grow more skin, a study for the FDA Hickerson is overseeing, under a Department of Defense grant.

As for recovery time, Dr. Hickerson says expect a day in the burn center for every percent area burned. Family members say both Erica and Jewel Jarrett suffered about 70 percent burns over their bodies. So they are looking at roughly 70 days here.