Air Force physician honored for ground-breaking treatment

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Courtney Moses
  • 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO -- LACKLAND, Texas --  Using lasers to treat burns and scars might sound counterintuitive, but one Air Force physician is drastically improving the quality of life for his patients with a newly developed technology.

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Chad Hivnor, a 59th Medical Specialty Squadron dermatologist, was recently selected to receive the Air Force Association's Paul W. Myers Award for his work using lasers to improve skin texture and flexibility for wounded warriors.

In a joint research project with Massachusetts General Hospital and Shriner's Hospital of Boston, Hivnor was awarded a $1.1 million grant to study improvement in range of motion using lasers on burn and amputee scars.

"By using a carbon dioxide laser, a number of wounded warriors were able to be treated for their burns and scars, to include leg amputations," said Hivnor. "We were then able to increase the sweat and decrease hair which causes frictional folliculitis, a skin condition caused by inflammation of hair follicles due to the prosthetics.

"We're really helping the wounded warriors to assimilate back into society," he added.

For four years, Hivnor was the either the program director or assistant program director for the largest Defense Department dermatology residency, with 21 residents annually -- a program that maintains a 100-medical-board-percent passing rate.

He is also the only dermatologist in the Air Force taking patients into the operating room to treat severe burns involving 10 to 80 percent of their body surface.

Hivnor is the principle investigator for six different Institutional Review Board-approved research protocols with more than 200 combined patients. These studies allow using new technologies and practices with the laser treatments being one example of a tangible benefit for patients.

Gabriel Alvarado, a fireman hurt in a refinery explosion, said he is thankful for what Dr. Hivnor has done.

"I can already tell the difference in the way I look and feel," said Alvarado. "And that makes my outlook on life a lot better."

The Paul W. Myers award is presented to the Air Force medical corps officer who has made the most significant contribution to the continued good health of Airmen.

Formally known as the Clinical Surgeons Award, it became the Paul W. Myers Award in honor of retired Lt. Gen. Paul W. Myers for his 45 years of active membership with the society of Air Force Clinical Surgeons.

Hivnor will receive this award at the Air Force Association's annual Air and Space Conference in Washington on Sept. 16. (Courtesy of Air Force News Service)