A group of 300 Iranian plastic surgeons have come forward to perform high quality free plastic surgeries on acid attack victims in state-run and private hospitals, said Dr Abolhassan Emami, head of the Society of Iranian Plastic Surgeons, on the sidelines of the 40th congress of the society in Tehran, on Saturday.

“In incidents such as acid attacks, the natural appearance of the victims cannot be restored but we make every effort to improve their appearance and rebuild their lives through plastic surgery,” IRNA quoted him as saying.

In October 2014, several women were attacked with acid in Isfahan. The person or the people who carried out the attacks have not been arrested yet, although some suspects have been identified. So far, many cases of acid attacks have been reported in the country due to different reasons, including family conflicts, rejected marriage proposal, revenge and divorce requests.

Dr Mostafa Dahmardei, head of Shahid Motahari Burns Hospital, said that victims of burns can also receive treatment without paying the costs at the Shahid Motahari hospital or Hazrat-e Fatemeh Hospital.  “The only requirements to avail the services are to have health insurance, show financial inability to afford treatment costs, and Iranian nationality.”

Negligence, Accidents

Annually 150,000 to 200,000 cases of burn injuries, mostly due to negligence or fire accidents occur in the country, and 25,000 severe cases are hospitalized for the same reason. Burns are one of the most common household injuries, especially among children, due to hot liquids, solids or fire.
He noted that burn injuries are the 13th leading cause of death in Iran.

“Currently, there are only 864 burn recovery beds in the country of which 132 are in Tehran. We need more hospitals which are specialized in treating adult and pediatric burns, and are equipped with high-tech facilities, namely a skin bank.”

At present, Shahid Motahari Burns Hospital in Tehran, Amir-al-Momenin Burns Hospital in Shiraz and Imam Reza Burns Center in Mashhad are equipped with skin banks.

By Financial Tribune