Surgical Procedures of Burn

There are two major types of Surgical Procedures that can help to conceal scarring and replace lost tissue for severe burn victims: Dermabrasion and Skin Grafts. Dermabrasion is a surgical procedure to improve or minimize the appearance of scars, restore function and correct disfigurement resulting from an injury. A Skin Graft is surgical procedure in which a piece of skin from one area of the patient's body is transplanted to another area of the body.

Dermabrasion

Dermabrasion is a surgical procedure to improve or minimize the appearance of scars, restore function and correct disfigurement resulting from an injury. Dermabrasion is used to smooth scar tissue by shaving or scraping off the top layers or the skin. Though Dermabrasion smoothes the surface of the scar it will not remove the scar. Scars are permanent but their appearance will improve over time. The procedure may be performed in a dermatological surgeon's office or in an outpatient surgical facility.

Once the surgery is completed the skin will be treated with an ointment, a wet or waxy dressing, dry treatment or a combination of these. You can expect the skin to be red and swollen following surgery. The swelling will go down within 2 to 3 weeks. Patients will experience some aching, itching, tingling, or burning after surgery as new skin begins to grow. A crust will form over the area as it begins to heal, however, if ointment is applied to the area immediately following surgery, there will be little or no crust formation. As healing continues, the crust will fall away revealing a new layer of tight pink skin.

If the area remains red, swollen and itches after healing has started this may be a sign that abnormal scars are forming. Inform your surgeon if you are experiencing these symptoms.

Following the operation, you can expect to return to your normal activities such as work in about two weeks. You will want to avoid any activity that could cause a bump to the treated area for about two weeks. Sports should be avoided for 4 to 6 weeks following surgery. It is important to protect the skin for 6 to 12 months until the pigment has completely returned. The skin pinkness will take about 3 months to fade. When full re-pigmentation has returned the skin should closely match the surrounding skin.

Skin Grafts

A skin graft is surgical procedure in which a piece of skin from one area of the patient's body is transplanted to another area of the body. Skin from another person or animal may be used as temporary cover for large burn areas to decease fluid loss. Skin Graft The skin is taken from a donor site, which has healthy skin and implanted at the damaged recipient site. Skin graft and flaps are more serious than other scar revision surgeries such as dermabrasion. They are usually performed in a hospital under general anesthesia. The treated area depending on the size of the area and severity of the injury will determine the amount of time needed for healing. This time may be 6 weeks or a few months. Within 36 hours of the surgery new blood vessels will begin to grow from the recipient area into the transplanted skin. Most grafts are successful, but some may require additional surgery if the do not heal properly.

There are several types of skin grafts: pinch, split-thickness, full-thickness, and pedicle grafts.

* Pinch grafts - Quarter inch pieces of skin are placed on the donor site. These small pieces of skin will then grow to cover injured sites. These will grow even in areas of poor blood supply and resist infection.

* Split-thickness grafts - consists of sheets of superficial and some deep layers of skin. The grafts removed from the donor sites may be up to 4 inches wide and 10 to 12 inches long. The grafts are then placed at the recipient site. Once the graft is in place, the area may be covered with a compression dressing or the area maybe left exposed. Split-thickness grafts are used for non-weight-bearing parts of the body.

* Full-thickness grafts - are used for weight-bearing portions of the body and friction prone areas such as, feet and joints. A full-thickness graft contains all of the layers of the skin including blood vessels. The blood vessels will begin growing from the recipient area into the transplanted skin with in 36 hours.

* Pedicle grafts - with a pedicle graft a portion of the skin used from the donor site will remain attached to the donor area and the remainder is attached to the recipient site. The blood supply remains intact at the donor location and is not cut loose until the new blood supply has completely developed. This procedure is more likely to be used for hands, face or neck areas of the body.

The success of a skin graft can be determined within 72 hours of the surgery. If a graft survives the first 72 hours without an infection or trauma the body in most cases will not reject the graft. Before the surgery, the recipient and donor sites must be free of infection and have a stable blood supply. Burn Treatment Following the procedure moving and stretching the recipient site must be avoided. Dressings need to be sterile and antibiotics may be prescribed to avoid infection.