Management of facial burns: an update

This article reviews literature on the recent progress made on management of facial burns. The discussion focuses on those aspects of the management in which recent studies brought new ideas, and reviews some that failed to change practices in the management of facial burns.

Recent innovations and models have been proposed in an attempt to reduce the incidence of unnecessary intubations in patients with burns to the face and with suspected inhalational injury. However, the decision to secure the airway is still a challenging one. A new escharotomy method based on facial subunits principles has been described, while the practice of early tangential excision is still debated in the literature. Tarsorrhaphy without occluding the eyes has also been described in the management of peri-oral burns. Self-retaining and expandable stents for the nose have also been demonstrated to be effective in preventing nasal stenosis. 3D printed face masks have been more recently developed to improve the current wound-care methods used in facial scar management.

This article highlights recent developments in the management of facial burns in areas such as acute facial burn care, subsequent wound care and facial scar management. It highlights areas wherein progress has been made, as well as the need for further studies in certain areas.