Preoperative and postoperative care for split-skin grafting for anterior chest wall burn injury

Preoperative and postoperative
care for split-skin grafting for
anterior chest wall burn injury

Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................3
Pre-operative management..............................................................................................................3
Post-operative management within 24 hours...................................................................................4
Long-term post-operative management...........................................................................................5
Postoperative complications............................................................................................................6
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................7
References........................................................................................................................................8

Introduction
Full thickness burn if not managed properly can result in lifelong disabilities and
impairment as these injuries frequently lead to burn scar contractures. Burn scar
contractures may cause extreme disfigurement, pain, limitation of motion and itch which
hinder with daily routine of the person. This assignment is prepared to provide an outline
of the preoperative and postoperative management of a patient who will be treated with
split skin graft following a full thickness burn to the anterior chest wall. The
postoperative management will include preoperative aspects like assessment, evaluation,
investigation and education. Further postoperative management will involve immediate
post-operative period (first 24 hours) care and long-term management and complications
that may be related to the surgery.
Pre-operative management
The standard preoperative evaluation will include age of the patient, airway patency, lung
dysfunction, current resuscitation regimen, and patient’s response, potential vascular
access sites, coexisting morbidities, altered mental states and tolerance to enteral feeding
(Bittner, Shank, Woodson, & Martyn, 2015). It should be ensured that the perioperative
care is managed and communicated to surgeons and critical care team in a way that
surgical treatment goals are compatible with intensive care unit. Further, the details of the
surgical plan must be evaluated to assess blood loss to arrange suitable vascular access,
invasive monitors, and to order relevant blood products.
The pre-operative management is based on a range of goals which are airway
maintenance, edema reduction, prevention of structural damage, contracture and