Journal Reviews
Controlling intraoperative haemorrhage during burn surgery
This study aims to compare the efficacy of NuStat, a new haemostatic agent based on bamboo cellulose that proposes to activate the clotting cascade, against more traditional methods of haemostasis during burn surgery. The authors argue the requirement for further...
Medical tattooing for a better life
Dermatography (medical tattooing), was first documented in the 19th century, and is nowadays frequently performed for nipple reconstruction after mastectomy. Despite its popularity in the field of breast reconstruction, this procedure is not used on a broad scale in any...
Treating laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancers with pharyngolaryngectomy
The debate amongst head and neck surgeons, as to whether a skin flap or enteric flap offers superior outcomes in pharyngeal reconstruction, still rumbles on. The evidence pool is very shallow, even accounting for the so-called ‘landmark’ papers that swung...
Utility and outcomes of hydroxocobalamin use in smoke inhalation patients
The authors propose to investigate the usefulness of the routine administration of hydroxocobalamin in burns patients who are suspected to have an inhalational component to their injury. Mention is made of the important fact that no previous published literature has...
Albumin administration for fluid resuscitation in burn patients
The authors propose to investigate the ongoing controversy and debate surrounding the use of albumin in burns resuscitation; specifically they mention that the study is not investigating the use of albumin to correct hypoalbuminaemia. Mention is made of previously conducted...
Basic principles of bioengineering and regeneration
The ability to create de novo tissue to replace that removed from patients during surgery is a relatively recent advance. However, this is a fast-moving field and one which surgeons must be aware of from practical, ethical and scientific viewpoints....
A systematic review of silver sulphadiazine in the conservative management of burns
Silver sulphadiazine (SSD) has been used in conservative management of partial thickness burns (PTB), for over 50 years. Concerns have been raised over potential disadvantages of SSD including need for daily dressing changes, impairment of wound healing and expense. The...
Intralesional laser treatment for fillers complications
The authors of this paper present their experience in dealing with fillers complications. With an astonishing group of 219 patients over a seven-year period this may be one of the largest series of treated fillers complications in the literature.The authors...
ISBI practice guidelines for burn care
Practice guidelines (PGs) for burn care were first published in 2001 with multiple updates from the American Burn Association (ABA) on specific areas of burn care including resuscitation, electrical injury, pain management and venous thromboembolism prophylaxis. Significantly, previous guidelines have...
Selection of full thickness skin graft donor site influences extent of contraction
Full thickness skin grafts (FTSG) remain a standard reconstructive option in burns surgery, resulting in lesser secondary contracture and improved cosmesis compared to split skin grafts. Although the recipient site is known to influence contraction, the role of the donor...
Old age and postoperative complications of head and neck free flaps
This review examined the relationship between free flap survival in older patients and whether this correlated with specific co-morbid conditions and a ‘cut off’ age.The authors did exclude some papers that specifically focused on one co-morbid condition, such as diabetes,...
Hypertrophic burn scar-associated pruritus treated with a cooling nanoemulsion-enhanced novel hydrogel
Intractable pruritus is a challenging symptom of burn-induced hypertrophic scars. The exact pathogenesis of itch is unknown and conventional management with anti-histamines is often insufficient. Proposed treatments for pruritus include exposure to a cooling surface and maintenance of a well-hydrated...
