Pre and Post-operative Management for a Patient with Full Thickness Burn

Running head: OPERATION MANAGEMENT
A patient is to have a split thickness skin graft following a full thickness burn to their
right hand
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1NURSING
Introduction
Full thickness burns are third degree burns which destroy the epidermal and the
dermis layer of the skin completely (Sun et al., 2011, pp. 20976-20981). According to World
Health Organization, any individual who suffers from a third-degree burn should be
immediately admitted to the burn unit of the nearest hospital for medical attention (Sakya et
al., 2018). The only treatment which is possible for a third-degree burn is skin grafting which
involves removing the skin from one part of the body and transplant it to another part of the
body (Mohammadi et al., 2011, pp. 36-41).
In the following essay, a patient has suffered third degree burns in the right hand
which will be involving a split-thickness skin grafting procedure to recover. The pre-
operative and post-operative management for the patient will be discussed in detail in the
following paragraphs. There are certain measures which need to be undertaken by the patient
as well as the hospital administration to deliver the best care and treatment to the patient.
Pre-operative management
The care that is provided to the patient before the operation is important as this is
what gets the patient prepared for the surgery. It is usually carried out to improve the effect of
the surgery with a positive health outcome for the patient with decreased complications
during the surgery. The first 24-hours after the burn wound have been sustained are termed
very critical by the physicians and nursing professionals (Wiechman Askay, atterson, Sharar,
Mason & Faber, 2009, pp. 522-530). The care provided to the patient in the first 24-hours
reflect on the degree of morbidity and mortality (Alharbi et al., 2012, pp. 13). When the
patient is brought in the hospital before the surgery, the physician lists all the medical records
of the prescribed medicines and history with allergies present for the patient. The vital
parameters and fitness of the patient is critically assessed before the operation to calculate an

2NURSING
appropriate dosage for the anaesthetic agent and administer the patient (Bittner, Shank,
Woodson & Martyn, 2015, pp. 448-464). It is recommended that the patient should not be fed
with food and water for at least 8 hours prior the surgery. This protocol is strictly followed by
the nursing professionals and the hospital administration to avoid the onset of complication
during the surgery like vomiting. Considerable amount of research has been carried out to be
used as evidence for vomiting in the course of the surgery. The doctors and nurses have been
giving maximum attention to discontinuing the current prescription with stoppage of
administration of blood-thinners to further reduce the risk of difficulties (Stasko & Ross,
2009).
For an effective management of patients and the surgical procedure they will be
undergoing, a number of inter professionals are present. These includes physicians, nurses,
anaesthesiologist, surgeon and a cosmetologist (Stoddard, Ryan & Schneider, 2014, pp. 863-
878). The members ensure a stable surgical procedure for the patient with maximum benefit.
The anaesthesiologist in the team ensures conducts a brief physical examination of the patient
to help administer the optimum amount of anaesthetic agent. The surgeon and the
cosmetologist are the key members of the team as they conduct the surgery on the patient.
The surgeon assesses the depth of the wound as per the methods that have been proposed by
the department. Wallace rule of nine and Palmer methods are the most common methods that
have been implemented by surgeons worldwide. For a typical right hand burn, Wallace rule
of nine is used which makes up to 4.5% of the total body surface area.
Every hospital has a burn unit whose primary responsibility is to facilitate the patient
with the best care and a faster recovery process. When a patient has arrived in the hospital
with the burn wound in the right hand, the first thing which is practiced is to cool the area of
the burn with a towel dipped in cool, sterile saline. This will prove to bring relief to the
patient and reduce the risk of infections. It is after this that the patient should be administered