Wounds caused due to severe burn accidents such as contact with hot liquids or fire can cause permanently scarred patches over the skin. Burn wounds also limit the mobility of the part over which they happen to occur, making it difficult to perform routine tasks.

A reconstructive burn surgery helps in rectifying these issues either by grafting, excisions or flap surgery. The primary purpose of any reconstructive burn surgery is to improve both the functions and the cosmetic appearance of burnt surfaces.

Following are some of the standard and newly developed surgical procedures which are highly effective for burn wound reconstruction:

Primary Closure:

• Primary closure is performed to speed up the healing process by joining the edges of the wound together with sutures, staples, Steri-Strips or adhesives.
• As the wound is pulled together, the new blood vessels and keratinocytes have to migrate a relatively small distance, and it also prevents any infectious entry over the surface where autografts or allographs were extracted or after the burn excision. 
•  Primary closure may also be used for burn scar revision.

Skin Grafts:

• Skin grafting is the process of removing a patch of healthy skin from one part of the body and using it to replace dead skin tissues over the burnt region.
• A unique tool called Dermatone is used to cut off a skin patch known as the graft of healthy skin from the donor site which is usually an area covered by clothing and less exposed such as the inner thighs. This graft is placed over the excised part and connected with the surrounding skin via dressing or sutures. 
• During the first two to three days after the skin graft is placed, the skin cells survive on the diffusion of oxygen and nutrients by the extracellular matrix. Then, as the new blood vessels grow and heal, they establish a regular blood supply.
• The grafting procedure is performed in one of two ways:

• Split-thickness grafts: Here, only a few layers of the superficial skin are taken and transplanted. 
• Full-thickness grafts: Here, an entire patch of the skin is transplanted.

Tissue Expansion:

• This treatment aims to grow extra skin which can be used for reconstructive purposes.
• To do so, a tool called ‘balloon expander’ is inserted into the skin surface, which is adjacent to the burnt surface, and it is gradually inflated. 
• It is then filled with saline solution over time which forces the skin to stretch and grow. 
• Once enough new skin is created, it is used to adjust and realign the skin surface after the excision of the neighbouring burnt dead skin is done.

Local and Regional Skin Flaps:

• Unlike a skin graft which is completely detached from the donor site, a skin flap is kept attached at one end to the blood vessels. Also, the flap may be carried along with underlying fat and muscles.
• Local flaps are simple undetached flaps of skin made close to the burn site. These flaps are stretched to reach and cover the area where tissue loss has occurred. The basic types of local flaps include advancement flaps, rotation flaps, and transposition flaps.
• Regional flaps, on the other hand, are a chunk of skin layers that are completely moved to another region which is close by while still connected to a blood vessel for adequate blood supply. Regional flaps may also carry the underlying fat and muscles to the defected area.

Treating burn injuries with reconstructive surgery is a delicate job which can only be performed by a certified aesthetic surgeon in Pune under highly controlled environments. And if you’re looking for the best clinic where you can undergo such type of plastic surgery treatment in Pune, then Deccan Clinic is the best option for you. Employing the most experienced and skilled reconstructive surgeon in Pune, Deccan Clinic is able to provide extensive treatment for burns and other wounds while guiding you through all your options and procedure details to ensure effective solutions and prompt recovery. Visit the Deccan Clinic Website to learn more about their treatments.