Incidence of flap procedures in the management of burn patients

Increased survival of burn patients presents opportunities for reconstructive strategies to improve outcomes in management of acute and secondary burn injuries. To assess one such strategy, namely flap reconstruction, we reviewed cases performed during the first 4.5 years of the JMS Burn and Reconstruction Center. We found that flap procedures accounted for 0.8% of acute cases (23 of 2723 procedures) and 33% of secondary cases (260 of 790 procedures). This initial finding shows that in this practice flap procedures are applied to a small number of acute problems while flap procedures comprise 33% of secondary procedures. Reconstructive flap surgery plays a measurable role in burn treatment at this center. Further study of outcomes and timing could lead to better understanding of optimal strategies for flap reconstruction in burns.