Reconstruction of the Upper Extremity High-Voltage Electrical Injury: A Pediatric Burn Hospital’s 13-Year Experience

High-voltage electrical injury is a rare yet destructive class of burn injury that persists as a serious public health issue. High-voltage exposure is commonly associated with complex wounds to the upper extremities, which can be a significant challenge for burn and plastic surgeons to reconstruct. This intensive and multistage reconstructive process is especially difficult in the growing child. Maximizing upper extremity function is a top priority, as it can have a significant impact on a patient’s quality of life. Therefore, this retrospective review describes lessons learned during a 13-year experience at a specialized pediatric burn hospital with reconstruction of the upper extremity after severe high-voltage injury in 37 children. We found that adherence to the following principles can help promote meaningful functional recovery. These include: (1) frequent assessment during early acute care for the evolving need of decompression or amputation, (2) serial surgical debridement that follows a tissue-sparing technique, (3) wound closure by skin grafting or use of flaps (particularly groin or abdominal pedicled flaps) when deep musculoskeletal structures are involved, (4) early multidisciplinary intervention for contracture prevention and management including physical and occupational therapy, splinting, and fixation, (5) secondary reconstruction that focuses on the simplest possible techniques to repair chronic skin defects such as laser therapy, local tissue rearrangements, and skin grafting, (6) complex secondary reconstruction to address deeper tissue contractures or tendon and peripheral nerve deficits, and (7) amputation with preservation of growth plates, soft tissue transfer, and long-term prosthetic management when limb salvage is unlikely.

Long Term Outcome After Open Abdomen Treatment: Function and Quality of Life

Background: Open abdomen treatment (OAT) is widely accepted to manage severe abdominal conditions such as peritonitis and abdominal compartment syndrome but can be associated with high morbidity and mortality. The main risks in OAT are (1) entero-atmospheric fistula (EAF), (2) failure of primary fascial closure, and (3) incisional hernias. In this study, we assessed the long-term functional outcome after OAT to understand which factors impacted most on quality of life (QoL)/daily living activities and the natural course after OAT.Materials and Methods: After a retrospective analysis of 165 consecutive OAT patients over a period of 10 years (2002–2012) with over 65 clinical parameters that had been performed at our center (1), we initiated a prospective structured follow-up approach. All survivors were invited for a clinical follow-up. Forty complete datasets including clinical and social follow-up with SF-36 scores were available for full analysis.Results: The patients were dominantly male (75%) with a median age of 52 years. Primary fascial closure (PC) was achieved in 9/40 (23%), while in 77% a planned ventral hernia (PVH) approach was followed. A total of 3/4 of the PVH patients underwent a secondary-stage abdominal wall reconstruction (SSR), but 2/3 of these reconstructed patients developed recurrent hernias. Fifty-five percent of the patients with PC developed an incisional hernia, while 20% of all patients developed significant scarring (Vancouver Scar Score >8). Scar pain was described by 15% of the patients as “moderate” [Visual Analog Scale (VAS) 4–6] and by 10% as “severe” (VAS > 7). While hernia presence, PC or PVH, and scarring showed no impact on QoL, male sex and especially EAF formation significantly reduced QoL.Discussion: Despite many advantages, OAT was associated with relevant mortality and morbidity, especially in the early era before the implementation of a structured concept at our center. Follow-up revealed that hernia incidence after OAT and secondary reconstruction were high and that 25% of patients qualifying for a secondary reconstruction either did not want surgery or were unfit. Sex and EAF formation impacted significantly on QoL, which was lower than in the general population. With regard to hernia incidence, new strategies such as prophylactic mesh implantation upon fascial closure should be discussed analogous to other major abdominal procedures.

Secondary Reconstruction of the Zygomaticomaxillary Complex

Zygomaticomaxillary (ZMC) fractures are the second most common facial fractures after nasal bone fractures. The zygoma, with its location and multiple points of articulations, lends itself to both facial structure and esthetics. Secondary ZMC deformities are complications of inadequate primary correction, delayed repair, or lack of repair. Secondary revisions of ZMC aim to correct ZMC displacement and projection and to address orbital discrepancies. Extensive correction involving significant orbital and malar defects requires zygomatic repositioning osteotomies and would greatly benefit from the utilization of virtual surgical planning, intraoperative navigation, and imaging. Minor corrections in malar projection can be corrected by onlay grafting and soft tissue augmentation and resuspension. Isolated or minor orbital corrections can be managed by autogenous or alloplastic material to restore lost orbital volume and anatomy.