Burn injuries are often devastating accidents that result in long-term physical and psychosocial consequences and the formation of hypertrophic scars. Laser treatment is a low risk minimally invasive approach to treating such burn scars.
This video discusses the pulsed dye laser (PDL) and fractional ablative CO2 laser, and demonstrates their use in treating the scars on a pediatric patient who suffered from burn injuries 7 years ago in Vietnam.
Jonah Poster Shriners Hospitals for Children – Boston
Jonathan Friedstat, MD Shriners Hospitals for Children – Boston Massachusetts General Hospital
Burn scar contracture of the dorsal foot causes metatarsophalangeal joint hyperextension and interphalangeal joint hyperextension. In children, these issues only intensify over time as a child grows. Here, Dr. Friedstat at Shriners Hospitals for Children in Boston presents the case of a young boy who suffered a 32% total body surface area flame burn to his lower back, bilateral buttocks, legs, and feet. This patient had previously undergone a bilateral contracture release of the dorsum of the foot. Because the contractures recurred, another bilateral dorsal foot scar contracture release was performed using a split-thickness 1:1 meshed skin graft harvested from the anterior left thigh.
Jonathan Friedstat, MD
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Shriners Hospitals for Children – Boston
Massachusetts General Hospital
Jonah Poster
Medical Student
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
This case centers around a young male patient with a 1-year-old burn scar on his volar index finger that keeps the finger flexed and prevents it from being straightened. Here, Dr. Friedstat releases the contracture and places a full-thickness skin graft from the right groin crease. A K-wire was also used to prevent flexion of the finger during the healing process.
Jonathan Friedstat, MD
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
Shriners Hospitals for Children – Boston
Massachusetts General Hospital
Jonah Poster
Medical Student
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
In this case, a 5-year-old male with burn scars undergoes a bilateral dorsal foot scar contracture release with split-thickness skin grafts from the anterior thigh.
