Burns in children with special reference to the benefits of primary excision and immediate grafting

This report gives an analysis of average types of burns seen in children in Finland. The majority were small infants under two years of age who had sustained the burns indoors from scalding with hot water. Cold water immersion was given in half of the cases as first aid treatment. Most of the cases were of a minor degree, but almost half were excised primarily 48--120 hours after the accident if the burn was considered to be deep. Classification of deep and superficial burns has been considered. Special attention was paid to a radically decreasing hospital stay, which was less than 12 days in 68% of the primarily excised cases. Figures up to 60% have been given in the literature. The reduced length of hospitalization decreases psychological complications, which usually begin to become apparent in children after 14 days' hospital stay. Incidence of bacterial contamination to which a burn wound is very prone is also thus diminished. Later reconstruction procedures were carried out in 35% of the primarily excised cases, which shows that hypertrophy of the scars cannot be influenced by primary excision. However, primary excision is a very encouraging method of treatment in children of all ages.