Management of postburn perioral contracture using a customized static commissural splint and intralesional injections of triamcinolone

Abstract

A perioral facial burn is usually accompanied by a reduction in size of the oral orifice because of the contraction of the healing wound. Perioral contracture leads to microstomia, restricting nutrition, speech, and jaw movements and impairing the esthetic appearance of the face. It is imperative to introduce splints as early as possible to prevent the postburn sequelae. A delay in splinting allows postburn contractures. Overcoming these contractures to regain the size of the stoma requires restructuring of the hypertrophic scar using mechanical force and the biomodification of the tissues. This article describes the treatment of microstomia and the hypertrophic scarring of the perioral tissue using a novel static commissural splint with customizable components in conjunction with intralesional injections of triamcinolone. Within 6 months, the splint together with the steroid injections had helped increase the vertical opening of the mouth by 15 mm and the intercommissural distance by 16 mm.