Citation

Hughes CD, Dabek RJ, Riesel JN, Baletic N, Chodosh J, Bojovic B. Craniomaxillofac. Trauma Reconstr. 2019; 12(1): 75-80.

Affiliation

Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Laser Surgery, Shriners Hospitals for Children Boston, Boston, Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Georg Thieme Verlag)

DOI

10.1055/s-0038-1668511

PMID

30815220

PMCID

PMC6391277

Abstract

Burn injuries are responsible for a significant portion of surgically treatable morbidity throughout the world and particularly in underdeveloped and developing countries. Intentional flame, chemical, and contact burns are unfortunately a common mechanism of injury. It is estimated that intentional chemical burns are responsible for between 2 and 20% of burn injuries seen at burn centers in lower income countries. Women are commonly targeted and the perpetrators are often known to the victims. The combination of a high disease prevalence, limited surgical and anesthetic resources, a vulnerable patient population, and largely disfiguring, nonlethal injuries present unique challenges for the reconstructive surgeon who may not encounter such cases regularly. In this article, we present a case of a 16-year-old female who sustained severe, full-thickness burns to the face including eyelids, neck, abdomen, and upper extremities after an intentional acid attack. She began her treatment course with us approximately 1 year after the injury. The deformities of her oral and periorbital regions presented particularly difficult reconstructive problems, including impending visual loss. Using plastic surgical principalization, we provided our patient adequate restoration of facial form and function through numbers of interventions using fundamental and state-of-the-art techniques.

Language: en

Keywords

chemical burns; corneal transplant; facial reconstruction; violence prevention