Burn Contracture, prevention and surgical management in limited resources setting

Burn contractures are common amongst burns patients. Some patients receive treatment at a very late stage which can cause severe deformities affecting the bony structure and adjacent non burn regions. Prevention during the acute treatment of burn injury has very important role in scar modulation as well as intervention during scar maturation. Surgical treatment of burn contracture is very challenging, gaining normal function as much as possible is an important goal for patient's daily life. The release of the contracture in all scar directions or removing contracted scar as much as possible will ensure a functional outcome. Almost all reconstructive options from simple Z-plasty, skin graft, local flap, regional flap and free flap should be considered and provide good results when used properly at different stages of the burn contracture.

Learning outcomes:

1. Understand the importance of burn contractures prevention during the burn wound healing process.
2. Able to identify the anatomical deformities caused by the contracture forces on adjacent normal tissue or body regions.
3. Understand the principles of surgical management of burn contracture especially in limited resources settings.

This webinar has been made possible by funding from the Australian Government's NGO Cooperation Program.