Dr Kilak Kesha
Forensic Pathologist, The National Forensic Pathology Service of New Zealand

Kilak Kesha is a Forensic Pathologist at the National Forensic Pathology Service of New Zealand. He received  his pathology training at Danbury Hospital, which is affiliated with Yale university in Connecticut, USA.  He did his forensic pathology fellowship at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Office in Baltimore, Maryland, USA.  He then held a joint position as an Assistant Professor in Forensic Pathology at the University of Michigan and as a Medical Examiner at the Wayne County Medical Examiner’s office in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He has been working in Auckland since 2017.
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He has testified on numerous occasions in both criminal and civil proceedings, regarding child abuse resulting in death.

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​Bruises and Soft Tissue Injuries

We will discuss the use of good terminology to describe various cutaneous injuries and the importance of thorough examination, description and documentation of cutaneous injuries, including the use of photography as an adjunct to the medical record. We will also look at the principles of good interpretation, including ageing of bruises, number and location of bruises, and consideration of developmental abilities of a child. We will also examine the current evidence on the relationship between soft tissue injuries and child abuse, and discuss the differential diagnoses of cutaneous injuries. We will also discuss the use of appropriate medical investigations, both to rule out differential diagnoses of cutaneous injuries, as well as additional medical investigations where inflicted injuries are suspected.