NEW TECHNOLOGIES FOR TREATMENT OF HAND AND FOOT BURNS IN AN ARTIFICIALLY CREATED MOIST ENVIRONMENT

Treatment of patients with deep burns of the hand and foot continues to be one of the important tasks of surgery due to the functional significance of the limb segment in question, since after plastic closure of the lost skin and spontaneous healing of part of the burn surface, deformities and contractures of the hand and foot appear. This study analyzed outcomes for 128 patients with severe burns of the hand and foot. The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1 (n = 68). Silver-containing preparations were applied to the burn areas, and then the hand and foot were placed into a polyethylene packet secured with a bandage. After placing the hand and foot into the polyethylene packet, hotbed effect developed inside. Group 2 (n = 60 patients) who were treated traditionally. The first group surgery was usually performed 16–18 days after burn, with a non-perforated skin graft. The complication was performed on 5 (7.4%) of the patients because the transplanted skin lysed in some places. As a rule, the term of skin-covering rehabilitation coincided with the patients’ discharge from the hospital and our observation of 23.5±1,0 days. The second group allowed periods of time (22–24 days) to recover the skin cover. The second operation was performed on 9 (15.0%) of the patients with autograft. Patients remained in hospital on average for 32.5 ± 2.1 days. The procedures helped shorten their hospital stay, reduce expenses, and lessen joint and contracture deformities.