The management of burns in a developing country: an experience from the republic of Yemen

Abstract

Background: Burns management and mortality rates have improved in even developing countries including some Arab states. This paper describes an experience with burn victims in the Yemen to draw attention to the victims’ plight, the challenge posed to bodies, such as the International Society of Burn Injury (ISBI), and, the basic required corrective measures. Patients and methods: Between 1996 and 1999, sponsored surgical teams paid four visits to four Yemen cities. The patients presented here are a consecutive series of the plastic surgery operations that the teams performed. No literature on burn care in the Yemen could be traced. Results: The cities visited were Mokalla, Sayown, Taiz and Aden. Of 406 plastic procedures, 139 were for post-burn contracture release and are the focus of this paper. The victims were mostly children and the hand (49; 35%) was the most common site. Types of operation performed were release and split skin grafi, excision and full thickness skin grafi, release and local flap, and, multiple Z-plasty. Conclusions: This experience confirms the believe that, given initiative and efficient organization of available resources, developing countries such as the Yemen can also achieve better burn management. Solutions suggested are determining local health needs; onsite conferences, symposia and training programs; local personnel to visit burn centers overseas; burn research and prevention activities; and epidemiologic studies.