DEEP LOCALISED CONTACT HAND BURNS IN CHILDREN: TWO CASES REPORT

Abstract

The incidence of hand burns in children is high. In the overall cases of body burns, hand and wrist burns account for about 39%. They may constitute a part of a larger burn of the body, or an isolated injury of the hand and wrist. The choice between early and late eschar excision with skin covering is still a matter of debate. Two cases of deep burns of the hand were presented in this report. The report shows how to close the residual wounds of deep burns. One patient was a Malay child who sustained a deep contact burn in both hands. The other patient was a premature newly born Malay baby one-month-old, with Down’s syndrome. He suffered from a gangrenous patch (eschar) over the dorsum of the left hand after extravasation of drugs (chemical burn or necrotizing fasciitis). The two patients were treated by covering with local skin flaps after eschar excision and debridement. The result was good as patients did not develop any contracture as usual in similar cases.