Long road to recovery for victims of Hong Kong MTR arson attack
The months that follow treatment can be just as painful, support group member says.
Victims of Friday night’s MTR firebombing that suffered severe burns might require skin transplants and are likely to endure long and painful recoveries even after multiple surgeries, experts said.
Dr Axel Siu Yuet-chung, vice-president of College of Emergency Medicine, said passengers who sustained third-degree burns during the harrowing train ride may have to undergo skin grafting, depending on the range and depth of the wounds.
A representative from a patients’ support group described burn injuries as among the most painful and problematic wounds of all, and that it often takes years for patients to fully recover.
“When we say ‘get well soon’, it really does not mean anything,” Joyce Chan of Hong Kong Burns Association said.
“The path to recovery can take a very long time.”