If a severe wound or a burn has limited your mobility and is causing a lot of sensation, then plastic surgery may be one of the good options for your treatment. There are two main categories of burn surgery. They are acute and reconstructive burn surgery. It is conducted by a team consisting of trauma surgeons who are specialized in critical burn care. However, complex burns do require consultation with plastic surgeons. They assist the team in the inpatient and outpatient management of such complex cases.
Various Plastic Surgery Options
In case of severe burn, a patient may need to undergo a process called debriding. It refers to the removal of the dead tissues before the reconstructive burn Plastic surgery. After debriding, there are various types of wound treatments that the plastic surgeon can suggest. Some of them are as follows:
Skin Grafts
This is one of the most common ways of treatment for burn patients. In this process, skin is taken from one area and is being transplanted to another place. There are usually two types of skin grafts.
They are split-thickness grafts and full-thickness grafts. In split-thickness grafts, just a few layers of the outer skin are generally being transplanted, whereas full-thickness grafts involve transplanting all the dermis.
A unique instrument named the dermatome is being used while doing a skin graft. It helps by removing the skin from that area, usually hidden with clothing such as the buttocks inner thigh.
After removing the graft, it is placed in the body area that needs to be covered. It is being held in that place by conducting a dressing and a few stitches. The donor site is also being surrounded by a bandage so that no infection occurs in that place.
The approximate recovery time from split-thickness skin graft is generally less than three weeks; however, the recovery time for full-thickness graft is more than three weeks to approximately five weeks.
Microsurgery
If the patient had lost his finger, ear, toe, and even lip, then microsurgery can be used for those to make them re-attached. In this process, the surgeon uses a microscope for surgical assistance in the reconstructive procedure. The surgeon uses the microscope to see the tiny vessels or nerves. It helps them to repair the damaged nerves and the arteries. It is also a method to help people suffering from facial paralysis or even to reconstruct breasts.
Free Flap Procedure
Free Flap Procedure is generally being conducted at breast reconstruction or surgery to remove a head or neck cancer. It is a procedure in which the surgeon transfers the skin, bone, or muscle from one area to the surgical area of the body and the original supply of the blood. It is done to reconstruct the affected area, which involves microsurgery. However, the healing of the surgical site may take a certain amount of time.
Expansion of Tissue
Expansion of tissue is a procedure that helps the body in growing extra skin for reconstruction. It is done by inserting an instrument known as a balloon expander near a particular area of the body that needs repair. With time the balloon would be filled up with saline water. It helps the skin get stretched slowly and grows in the same way as it is a pregnancy in a woman. That extra skin is then used in correcting or reconstructing the damaged body part.
Benefits of Reconstructive Burn Surgery
Reconstructive burn surgery will not be able to remove the burn scars from the patient’s body entirely. However, it will help in improving certain essential functions and make the scar less noticeable to others. Scars can limit various functions of hands, legs, or any other body part. Reconstructive surgery can be beneficial in releasing the contracture and thus help the patient regain his original strength.
Reconstructive burn surgery can also be helpful in the treatment of facial scarring that creates particular problems in eye leads, nose, lips, and even hair loss. Even the wide, thick, or discolored scars can also be treated with various surgical or non-surgical methods.