How Sheba’s Burn Care Specialists Saved a Palestinian Child from Death

 As the Palestinian Authority threatens to cut off all funding of medical care for desperately ill children and adults who are being treated in Israeli hospitals, 18-month-old Shams Ismail has gotten a new lease on life thanks to the heroic and innovative medical care provided by plastic surgeons in Sheba's National Burn Center Unit.

Five months ago, Shams Ismail was sleeping peacefully in the northern Palestinian town of Rantis, when a short circuit in a heater ignited a fire in her room. No one could enter, as her room was consumed by flames and smoke.

Her father, Hamdala, recalled, "We had to break through an adjoining wall to get to her. Israeli soldiers and police at a nearby checkpoint came quickly to assist and make sure she was driven to Sheba Medical Center. She hovered between life and death for several days, as 50% of her body had been burned."

Thanks to the heroic efforts of Prof. Josef Haik, Dr. Moti Harats, Dr. Gregory Troddler and Dr. Ayelet Di Segni of the Burns Center, Shams is in the midst of making a miraculous recovery.

Prof. Haik revealed, "Our plastic surgical team, which features Dr. Moti Harats, Gregory Troddler and Ayelet Di Segni took millimeters of remaining healthy skin that remained on Shams' body and sent it to our Howard and Rosine Kauffmann Green Skin and Tissue Center where we were able to grow just enough new skin within 10 days, to cover her burned stomach region. Using one's own skin to grow in the lab and grafting it back onto the body is essentially the best treatment available."

Shams has a long road of recovery ahead of her as the severe burns forced the amputation of both of her legs. She will also need extensive plastic surgery but thanks to Sheba's skilled plastic surgeons and innovative skin bank, Shams and others who have suffered from horrific burns have new hope for survival.