The Scar Free Foundation

The Scar Free Foundation is a national fundraising charity established in 1999 to champion the cause of people living with disfigurement and visible loss of function by funding research into pioneering surgical and psychological healing techniques.

BSSH is one of six leading medical associations that act as ‘Principal Members’ of the charity, closely involved in its management and defining the Foundation’s research strategy. Many of the Healing Foundation’s research priorities are relevant to the clinical management of Hand Surgery patients.

These have included a significant three year study into the psychological aspects of disfigurement and a study into the information needs of patients with disfigurement and visible loss of function. The Healing Foundation has also established a Chair of Tissue Regeneration at the University of Manchester for research into wound healing, tissue regeneration and repair, and in 2010 the award process was completed for the Healing Foundation UK Centres for Burns Research. The two sites, in Birmingham and Bristol will provide in international focus for clinically-driven, patient relevant research into all aspects of burns care from prevention, acute care and rehabilitation. Both of these major research initiatives have relevance to hand surgery patients of the future.

More specifically, as a major proponent of research in hand surgery, the Scar Free Foundation awarded a two-year research fellowship in Hand Surgery (on Dupuytren's disease, which was completed in 2010. 

Annually, the Scar Free Foundation and BSSH also jointly fund Student Elective Awards into all areas of hand surgery for medical students. All information on current funding is on the Scar Free Foundation website.