Riyam Mistry completed his medical degree at the University of Bristol in 2016 and is
now Restore Fellow and Lead Clinical Researcher for the project, “A Single-Blinded,
Randomised Trial into the Efficacy of Silicone Sheeting for Cutaneous Scars. The
Best Evidence for Scar Treatment (BEST) Group Trial.” While leading this clinical
trial, Riyam is also studying at the University of Oxford.

Silicone dressings are widely used in the NHS and privately for scar treatment,
however there is very little scientific evidence to justify the multi-million pound annual
spend on these dressings. This is because many of the existing studies that
examined silicone did not use adequate techniques or follow patients up for a long
enough time period. The BEST study is the first randomised controlled clinical trial
for silicone dressings and aims provide high quality of evidence.

This exciting study is the first of its kind and will help us answer the question of
whether silicone is truly beneficial. It will direct future research in scarring and
potentially change practice. Depending on the results this could either be promoting
the use of silicone or reducing its use and consequently saving the NHS money.

Restore are grateful to the Vocational Training Charitable Trust for their generous
support of this project stream. We look forward to the results of this novel and
important study.

By Jasmine Bailey, Restore Student Fellow