Live sibling skin allografts for severe burns in a paediatric patient: A viable option in developing countries

Abstract

Severe burns in the paediatric population are associated with high mortality and morbidity in any developing countries. Children with more than 40% total body surface area burns in Fiji will succumb from complications and as a direct result of inadequate treatment and lack of resources. The surgical treatment of any severely burnt patient is not only laborious but very costly to the Fiji health system and depletes existing resources with few options for skin coverage. This is the first case report of live sibling skin allograft for severe paediatric burns and one of only few patients to have survived more than 50% burns in Fiji. We describe the technique and the role of using live sibling skin allograft as an option to improve survival in patients with severe burns in a developing country.