Recent advances in burn wound management in China

The latest advances in burn wound management in China may be summarized as follows: 1. Escharectomy, tangential excision and skin grafting is being performed widely in moderate and small deep burns especially in functional sites; immediate flap transfer after débridement for deep third degree burns; tangential excision, escharectomy and large sheet skin grafting along the division lines of the face for deep facial burns. 2. Micro-skin grafting--a new operative method used in China was introduced to manage extensive deep burns. 3. Softened freeze-dried glutaraldehyde preserved skin, chlorhexidine-alcohol refrigerated porcine skin, frozen amniotic membrane--all are effective as burn dressings. 4. The new methods of prolonging the survival time of allo- and xeno-skin grafts are used with ultraviolet rays, medicinal herbs and in vitro treatment with triamcinolone acetonide. 5. No remarkable rejection occurred after application of composite skin grafts to burn wounds. 6. The time of culturing epidermal cells has been shortened to 5-13 days. Preliminary successful results were obtained in patients after transplantation of cultured epidermal cell plate or cell emulsion dropped into the holes of allo-skin grafts. No rejection occurred for 50 days up to 16 months after allo-transplantation of epidermal cell plate. 7. Silver norfloxacin, zinc sulphadiazine and cerium nitrate/silver sulphadiazine had a strong bacteria inhibiting action and promoted wound healing.