About Academician Xia Zhaofan
Academician Xia Zhaofan (夏照帆) is Chief Physician, Professor, Doctoral Supervisor, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, and one of the world's foremost authorities on burns surgery, critical burn care, wound repair, and skin regeneration medicine, based at Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University (Second Military Medical University) — one of China's premier military-affiliated academic medical centers and the home of one of the world's largest and most experienced burns centers. Academician Xia is internationally recognized as a defining figure of modern burns medicine, having made foundational contributions to the surgical management of massive burns, the development of skin substitutes and tissue-engineered skin, the pathophysiology of burn-induced systemic inflammatory response, and the establishment of evidence-based critical care protocols for severely burned patients that have directly saved thousands of lives and set global standards for burn care.
Severe burns represent one of the most physiologically devastating injuries a human being can sustain. The management of a patient with burns covering 50%, 70%, or 90% of the total body surface area (TBSA) — requiring simultaneous management of fluid resuscitation, infection control, respiratory failure, multi-organ dysfunction, nutritional support, and serial surgical excision and skin grafting — demands a level of clinical expertise, institutional infrastructure, and multidisciplinary coordination that is available at only a handful of centers worldwide. Academician Xia's burns center at Changhai Hospital is one of those centers, and its outcomes for massive burns — including survival rates for burns that would be uniformly fatal at most hospitals — are among the best in the world.
Beyond acute burn care, Academician Xia's clinical and research program encompasses the full spectrum of wound repair and skin regeneration, including chronic wounds, diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, post-burn reconstruction, scar management, and the development of biological and tissue-engineered skin substitutes. His translational research program has produced skin substitute products that are in clinical use across China and has contributed to the global understanding of wound healing biology and the mechanisms of scar formation.
Hospital Affiliation: Changhai Hospital, Naval Medical University
Changhai Hospital (长海医院), affiliated with Naval Medical University (formerly Second Military Medical University), is one of Shanghai's largest and most respected tertiary care hospitals. The Burns Center at Changhai Hospital is one of the largest and most experienced in the world, with dedicated burn intensive care unit (BICU) beds, a specialized burn operating suite, a skin bank, a wound care center, and a rehabilitation program for burn survivors. The center manages a high volume of severe and massive burn cases annually, including patients transferred from across China and internationally, and has been the site of landmark clinical and translational research in burns medicine and wound repair.
The center's research infrastructure includes a skin tissue engineering laboratory, a wound healing research program, and an active clinical trials program evaluating novel wound care products, skin substitutes, and anti-scar therapies. The center maintains active research collaborations with burns and wound care centers in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, and is recognized internationally as one of the world's leading burns research institutions.
Clinical Expertise
- Massive and severe burns — management of burns covering 50–99% TBSA; fluid resuscitation and hemodynamic stabilization; management of inhalation injury and respiratory failure; early excision and grafting strategy for massive burns; management of burn wound infection and sepsis; multi-organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) in burns; nutritional support in severe burns; management of burns in elderly patients and children; burns in patients with significant comorbidities
- Burn wound surgery — tangential and fascial excision; split-thickness skin grafting (STSG); full-thickness skin grafting; cultured epithelial autograft (CEA); dermal substitutes (Integra, Pelnac, and Chinese-developed products); composite skin substitutes; management of donor site wounds; serial grafting strategy for massive burns with limited donor sites
- Chemical and electrical burns — management of acid and alkali chemical burns; hydrofluoric acid burns; electrical burns and arc flash injuries; management of deep electrical burns with muscle necrosis and compartment syndrome; fasciotomy and amputation decisions in electrical burns
- Inhalation injury — diagnosis and grading of inhalation injury; bronchoscopic assessment and management; mechanical ventilation strategies; management of carbon monoxide and cyanide poisoning; long-term pulmonary follow-up after inhalation injury
- Post-burn reconstruction and scar management — hypertrophic scar and keloid management; pressure garment therapy; laser scar treatment (fractional CO2, pulsed dye laser); intralesional corticosteroid and 5-fluorouracil injection; surgical scar revision; contracture release and reconstruction; management of post-burn contractures of the face, neck, hands, and axillae; tissue expansion for post-burn reconstruction
- Chronic wounds and wound repair — diabetic foot ulcers; pressure injuries (decubitus ulcers); venous leg ulcers; post-traumatic and post-surgical wounds; wound bed preparation; negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT); advanced wound dressings; growth factor therapy; platelet-rich plasma (PRP); management of infected and biofilm-forming wounds
- Skin substitutes and tissue engineering — clinical application of biological and tissue-engineered skin substitutes; acellular dermal matrix (ADM); cultured skin equivalents; coordination with the Changhai skin bank for allograft skin; evaluation of novel wound care products in clinical trials
- Expert second opinion — review of burn wound photographs, treatment records, and surgical plans for patients with severe burns or complex wounds who are seeking a second opinion on surgical strategy, skin substitute selection, or scar management; written English-language second opinion reports available through CMCS
Academic Leadership & Research Contributions
Academician Xia Zhaofan is one of the most prolific and internationally impactful researchers in burns medicine and wound repair in the world. He has authored and co-authored more than 350 peer-reviewed publications in Chinese and international journals, including contributions to Burns, Wound Repair and Regeneration, Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, Critical Care Medicine, Biomaterials, and Chinese Medical Journal. His research has focused on the pathophysiology of burn-induced systemic inflammatory response and multi-organ dysfunction, the development and clinical evaluation of tissue-engineered skin substitutes, the mechanisms of hypertrophic scar formation and novel anti-scar therapies, the optimization of fluid resuscitation protocols for massive burns, and the role of gut barrier dysfunction in burn-induced sepsis.
Academician Xia has served as editor-in-chief of the Chinese Journal of Burns and editorial board member of multiple international burns and wound care journals. He is a past president of the Chinese Burns Association and has served on the scientific advisory boards of the International Society for Burn Injuries (ISBI) and the American Burn Association (ABA). He has been a keynote speaker at ISBI, ABA, the European Burns Association (EBA), and the World Congress on Trauma, Shock, Inflammation and Sepsis (TSIS), and is recognized globally as one of the most influential voices in burns medicine and wound repair science.
Academician Xia has trained more than 120 burns surgery and wound care fellows and residents who now lead programs across China, and his foundational contributions to Chinese burns medicine — including the development of Chinese-made skin substitute products, the establishment of national burn care standards, and the training of a generation of burns surgeons — are acknowledged by virtually every burns specialist practicing in China today. His election to the Chinese Academy of Engineering reflects the transformative impact of his research and clinical leadership on the management of severe burns and wound repair in China and globally.
Why International Patients Choose Academician Xia Zhaofan
For patients with severe or massive burns — particularly those with burns covering more than 50% TBSA, burns complicated by inhalation injury, chemical or electrical burns, or burns in patients with significant comorbidities — the Changhai Burns Center under Academician Xia's leadership is one of a small number of centers in the world with the clinical experience, surgical expertise, and critical care infrastructure to offer a realistic chance of survival and meaningful functional recovery. The center's outcomes for massive burns, including survival rates for burns that would be uniformly fatal at most hospitals, are among the best documented in the world literature.
For patients with complex post-burn reconstruction needs — including severe contractures, extensive hypertrophic scarring, or functional deficits affecting the face, hands, or major joints — Academician Xia's program offers a level of reconstructive expertise and access to advanced skin substitute technologies that is genuinely rare. Many international patients arrive at CMCS after completing acute burn care in their home country and seeking expert consultation on post-burn reconstruction options, scar management strategies, or access to tissue-engineered skin products that are not yet available in their home country.
For patients with chronic wounds — including diabetic foot ulcers, pressure injuries, or post-surgical wounds that have failed to heal despite standard wound care — Academician Xia's wound repair program offers access to advanced wound care technologies, biological wound products, and clinical trial opportunities that may not be available elsewhere. Treatment costs at Changhai Hospital are substantially lower than equivalent care in Western healthcare systems, and the speed of access to specialist consultation is typically far faster than in public healthcare systems abroad.
What to Expect at Your Consultation
Consultations with Academician Xia begin with a comprehensive review of all prior treatment records — including burn wound photographs, operative reports, fluid resuscitation records, infection and microbiology data, nutritional assessment, and rehabilitation records for acute burn patients; and wound photographs, wound care records, vascular assessment, and metabolic data for chronic wound patients. CMCS will arrange certified translation of all medical records and reports in advance of the consultation.
Academician Xia will assess the wound status and healing trajectory, evaluate the adequacy of prior treatment, outline the recommended surgical or wound care strategy with detailed rationale, and provide a realistic assessment of expected outcomes and the timeline for wound closure, reconstruction, or scar maturation. A multidisciplinary assessment involving critical care, infectious disease, nutrition, and rehabilitation medicine will be coordinated as appropriate. A written English-language consultation summary is provided after every appointment, and CMCS will facilitate direct communication between Academician Xia's team and the patient's home burns surgeon or wound care specialist for continuity of care planning.
Book a Consultation Through CMCS
China Medical Concierge Shanghai (CMCS) provides comprehensive end-to-end support for international patients seeking burns surgery or wound care consultation with Academician Xia Zhaofan at Changhai Hospital. Our services include priority consultation scheduling, certified medical record translation, pre-consultation wound and imaging review by our clinical coordinators, surgical logistics and hospital admission coordination, visa and travel support, accommodation recommendations near Changhai Hospital, on-site interpretation throughout the consultation and treatment process, pharmacy and wound care product coordination, and ongoing follow-up coordination between Academician Xia's team and the patient's home physicians after return.
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