The Journal of craniofacial surgery
-
Neck deformities remain a cause of significant morbidity in children who sustain burns. Reconstructive efforts must be directed not only at restoring satisfactory head position, flexion/extension, and rotation but also at satisfying the cosmetic and functional needs of the individual patient. We present the management of these complex patients, from the acute management of neck burns to the various reconstructive options available.
-
Despite significant burn treatment advances, modern multidisciplinary care, and improved survival after burns, facial burn scars remain clinically challenging. Achieving a successful reconstruction requires a comprehensive approach, entailing many advanced techniques with an emphasis on preserving function and balancing intricate aesthetic requirements. ⋯ In this paper, we describe the basic principals of facial burn care in the pediatric burn population, with a specific focus on lower-eyelid burn ectropion and oral commissure burn scar contracture leading to microstomia. Several cases are demonstrated.
-
Burn injuries continue to be a significant cause of pediatric morbidity in the United States, with approximately 20,000 admissions per year to centers specializing in the treatment of burn injuries. In this article, we aim to provide the practitioner with a guideline to the unique challenges, advances and current expectations, and treatment in this patient population.
-
Pediatric patients account for approximately one third of all burn patients in the United States, with upper extremity or hand involvement in most admitted burn patients. Specialized management and care of pediatric burn patients optimizes functional outcomes. ⋯ Acute and long-term care aspects of pediatric upper extremity and hand burns require unique considerations. Diagnosis, treatment, and management of upper extremity and hand burns are discussed in detail with respect to the pediatric population.
-
Despite major advances in the area of burn management, burn injury continues to be a leading cause of pediatric mortality and morbidity. Facial burns in particular are devastating to the affected child and result in numerous physical and psychosocial sequelae. Although many of the principles of adult burn management can be applied to a pediatric patient with facial burns, the surgeon must be cognizant of several important differences. ⋯ Surgical reconstruction of burn wounds should proceed only after thorough planning and may involve a variety of skin graft, flap, and tissue expansion techniques. The most favorable outcome is achieved when facial resurfacing is performed with respect to the aesthetic units of the face. Children with facial burns remain a considerable challenge to their caregivers, and these patients require long-term care by a multidisciplinary team of physicians and therapists to optimize functional, cosmetic, and psychosocial outcomes.