The importance of diverting colostomy in extensive burns involving the perineal region

Extensive perineal burn is uncommon in clinical cases. Burn in closed proximity to the anus poses difficult wound care and high graft failure rate. This paper reports the use of temporary colostomy for fecal passage diversion in treating two burn patients who suffered from 48% and 36% flame burn respectively. The injuries were resulted from suicidal attempts and the perineum burns were less than 2cm from the anus. Loop transverse colostomies were performed in the early stage of treatment and were closed following complete wound closure and when no late perineum scar surgery was anticipated. We advocate the used of temporary colostomy in the treatment of extensive deep perineum burn as continuous fecal soiling to the wound will delay wound healing and increase the risk of graft failure.

Objective: To explore the effect of ilioinguinal flap on reconstruction of perineal obliteration deformity after extensive deep burn. Methods: Five patients with perineal obliteration deformity after extensive deep burn were hospitalized from January 2010 to June 2015, with total burn area ranging from 35% to 55% total body surface area, depth of full-thickness burn and wound deep to bone, and course of scar from 6 months to 3 years. Scars of patients were involved in bilateral groins, inner thighs, monsveneris, sacrococcygeal region, and central area of perineum. The abduction angles of double lower limbs ranged from 30 to 65°. Anus was narrow, and defecation was difficult. After release of scar tissue in perineal region, the wound area ranged from 23 cm×12 cm to 28 cm×24 cm. For wound repair and reconstruction of anus, unilateral ilioinguinal flap was used in 3 cases. Due to large wound in two patients, bilateral ilioinguinal flap was used in one patient, and unilateral ilioinguinal flap combined with anterolateral femoral flap was used in another one patient. The area of unilateral ilioinguinal flap ranged from 23 cm×12 cm to 30 cm×20 cm, and the area of anterolateral femoral flap was 21 cm×12 cm. The abdominal donor site was closed with partial suture and partial skin grafting (harvested from split-thickness skin of autologous head or thin intermediate-thickness skin of autologous back). The femoral donor site was directly sutured. After the operation, the double lower limbs were fixed with plaster on abducent position and strictly immobilized. Results: All the flaps survived after operation and the wounds healed well. During the follow-up for 6 to 12 months, the appearance of flaps were good with soft texture and no contracture. Hip joint motion was good, and abduction angles of double lower limbs ranged from 110 to 135°. The appearance of crissum was good without skin inflammation and with normal function of defecation. The appearance of donor site was acceptable to patients or their parents. Conclusions: Ilioinguinal flap is a good choice for reconstruction of perineal obliteration deformity after burn.

Ducatalon is a bipyridylium herbicide containing a mixture of diquat and paraquat, and is used in agriculture. Adverse reactions due to contact of this compound with the skin have rarely been described. Two men were seen for severe pain due to extensive chemical burns in the perineal and scrotal regions, caused by leaking of Ducatalon from defective equipment used for spraying the herbicide. The lesions responded well to treatment with topical silver sulfadiazine, combined with systemic antibiotics. The damaged skin healed without scarring within a few days. The lesions have not recurred after the faulty spraying apparatus was replaced. Direct contact of the skin with Ducatalon may lead to severe chemical burns. Proper precautions should be taken by the personnel handling this compound, with particular attention to the integrity of the equipment used for spraying the herbicide.

Background and Objectives: Burn injury represents a very important public health problem that affects all age groups. Of all burns, of particular interest is that of the perineum. Despite the importance of the subject, unfortunately, the medical literature on this anatomical region is sparse. With this study we aim to analyze the characteristics of burns affecting the perineal area, the physiopathologic implications of this injury, the influence of patient prognosis, possible complications and therapeutic guidelines. Materials and Methods: This study is formed by a retrospective analysis of cases that were admitted over a period spanning 3 years with a total of 258 burned patients. After inclusion criteria, we selected 49 patients who had perineal burns and compared this group to a non-perineal burns lot of 198 patients (11 were excluded). We studied their characteristics and the demographical aspects that we deemed most important to their condition: age, sex, burn percentage of total body surface area (TBSA), the percentage of third-degree lesions, comorbidities, and associated infections, inhalation injuries and we calculated the significant scores such as the Abbreviated Burn Severity Index score (ABSI). Results: The patients in our study mostly had severe extensive burns (64.9% mean TBSA) which were also underlined by the mean ABSI of 10.88 ± 2.46 thus having a poor prognosis considering their age, the percentage of burned area, the presence of third-degree burns and inhalation injuries. In our study, perineal burns were usually associated with burns of adjacent regions abdominal wall burns comprising 51% and thigh burns comprising 97.9% of the associated injuries. This relationship both explains their presence in mostly severe cases with higher TBSA and also underlines the issues that derive from the burns of the perineum and their several complications which lead to an unbalance of the patients. The treatment of perineal burns still remains much debated in the literature when considering their indications and can become rather complex in the sequelae setting. Conclusions: The issue of burns remains one of the most important subjects in plastic surgery. Being a region hard to treat but with a big influence on patient evolution and survival chances prevention remains a key factor.