Tell us where you live, work, and about your current involvement in the field of wound care
Hola, my name is Kirsi Isoherranen. I am a specialist in Dermatology and I work as a Head Physician of Helsinki Wound Healing Centre and I am also the Immediate Past President of EWMA.
How did your interest in caring for patients with wounds begin?
It all began in 2012, when I started to run a wound outpatient clinic in our Dermatology Clinic together with an expert tissue viability nurse. During that period, I also started to develop referral pathways of patients with wounds in our área. I also saw the need for Education for recognizing atypical wounds.
Is there a particular project, decision, or person that has had a significant impact on your professional career?
I am especially proud of the EWMA Document on Atypical Wounds published in 2019. I proposed and led as Editor the document. After that, atypical wounds have been recognized more and more as a separate wound category in the international wound care field. Another one is the establishment of Special Competence in Wound Management in 2015 for physicians, accredited by Finnish Medical Association. We worked hard for two years as an interprofesional group to establish this programme.
What aspect of wound care and treatment do you consider essential to strengthen, both in clinical practice and in the training of new professionals?
The correct diagnostics of wounds is an essential part of successful management, and patients with wounds with several etiologies are more and more frequent in everyday practice. Accurate diagnostics needs often interprofessional teamwork, and close collaboration between dermatologist, dermatopathologist, vascular surgeon and palstic surgeon. After exact diagnosis, basic treaments, such as revascularization, endovenous procedures, compression therapy and off-loading come first, and only after that more advanced treatments. Here, expert tissue viability nurses play a crucial role and it is essential to keep up the good team spirit.
What advances do you think will revolutionize the approach to and treatment of patients with wounds in the coming years?
The correct diagnostics of wounds is an essential part of successful management, and patients with wounds with several etiologies are more and more frequent in everyday practice. Accurate diagnostics needs often interprofessional teamwork, and close collaboration between dermatologist, dermatopathologist, vascular surgeon and palstic surgeon. After exact diagnosis, basic treaments, such as revascularization, endovenous procedures, compression therapy and off-loading come first, and only after that more advanced treatments. Here, expert tissue viability nurses play a crucial role and it is essential to keep up the good team spirit.
What advances do you think will revolutionize the approach to and treatment of patients with wounds in the coming years?
AI will for sure change the way we diagnose, assess and document wounds.
Outside of your professional life, how do you unwind or recharge your batteries to keep facing daily challenges?
Since childhood, I have loved orienteering, which is a sports where you run a route in a forest with a map and compass, and do electrical stamping at control points.
What role has SEHER played in your professional career within the field of wound care?
I had the privilige to contribute with SEHER in organizing EWMA Barcelona in 2026. The first experience was very positive and collaboration was smooth.
Have you participated in or collaborated on activities, conferences, or initiatives organized by SEHER? What was that experience like?
See above
If you had to define SEHER in one word or phrase, what would it be?
An active, vascularized and dynamic organization
