Critical care nursing clinics of North America
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Ideally, in a burn-traumatized patient, nonviable skin and tissues should be excised early in the course of treatment and replaced with a graftable material that mimics the properties of normal skin in function,texture, sensation, and appearance. The difficulty in identifying indeterminate-depth dermal injuries requires further studies to establish the line between extending injury and delaying the progressive excision of nonviable tissue. ⋯ Therefore, greater emphasis must be placed on improving the overall treatment process and the quality of the end result for these patients. Surgically directed and laboratory-based investigations into the cellular components of wound repair and the development of alternative methods of final wound closure are continuing to evolve, and bum specialists are,optimistic that new alternatives will become available for their patients.