Burns and its Sequelae

Types of Burn and its Treatment

Hello friends, I am Dr. Anubhav Gupta. I am a consultant plastic surgeon working at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi. Today I am going to discuss a very common topic that is burns and its sequelae, the commonest problems which are caused by burns that are contractures. I would answer the commonly and the frequently asked questions related to these topics.

Q. What is the first thing I should do when I am burned? Dr. See it’s a very common thing that most people don’t know. Wherever suppose some person is burned, the first thing is to stop the source of that fire. It can be done by many methods, by pouring sand, etc, the second thing is you should try and bring that part of the body under running tap water. It should be cool, it should not be cold or freezing, it should be just cool and let that part of the body be continuously under water. What it does is, it takes away a lot of heat and prevents the burn from getting deeper.

Q. What are the different degrees of burns?
Dr. Basically burns can be divided into three degrees, the first degree, second degree and third degree. First degree burns are the superficial ones wherein there is usually only redness which heals without any consequences. Second-degree burns are again of two types; second degree superficial and second degree deep. Second-degree superficial ones are burns with blisters, which may also heal on their own. It is the second degree deep and the third-degree burns which do not heal on its own and they require a treatment by a plastic surgeon.

Q. What burns came scaring and later contractures?

Dr. Basically second-degree burns and third-degree burns cause scarring and later contractures.

Q. Who should I approach for the treatment of contractures?
Dr. Contractures are treated by plastic surgeons.

Q. What surgery is done to treat contractures?
Dr. Basically contractures are when the body heals in burns it causes the part to come closer, leading to contractures, so there are a lack and deficiency of skin which causes contractures. What needs to be done is there, we put an incision on it, we cut it and we release it and then we take a graph, skin graph from the other part of the body and we put it on that released area and then after that we give a splint, so that the body is placed in the position it was before when there was a deficiency of tissue that is before burns. We tried to put the body or that joint in that position which is a normal position for that. And hence that is how we treat contractures.

Q. How long does it take for the healing to complete?
Dr. Basically healing of the contractures takes two-three weeks after we do the graph. After that, the patient is advised to take splinting.

Q. What is the advice to prevent contractures after burns?
Dr. See it is very important. After burns the patients, if it is deep burns should be given splinting. And they should be encouraged to do physiotherapy. If we follow these two rules there will never be contractures. If you have any further queries or you want to know more then contact me on Lybrate.