Major thermal burn as a result of intraoperative heating blanket use

A 72-year-old woman sustained a 30% full-thickness total body surface area burn as a result of a malfunction in a heating blanket during coronary artery bypass surgery. Early burn wound excision and wound closure with skin grafts were performed. The patient experienced wide swings in systolic blood pressure. She was treated with antibiotics and received maximal mechanical support. However, cardiac collapse occurred, and the patient died on the tenth day after burn injury. Previous case reports have discussed only minor burns that resulted from heating blanket use. The magnitude of this injury and the death that resulted from it highlight the importance of preoperative and intraoperative equipment checks and careful intraoperative core temperature monitoring.