The Burns and Plastic Surgery Clinic at the Brno University Hospital (FN Brno) and the Masaryk University Medical Centre have successfully treated a child with burns over more than 50% of his body, saving his life. Representatives of the clinic reported the case at a press conference earlier this week.
The 11-year-old boy was admitted to FN Brno in mid-February with multiple second- and third-degree burns, mainly on the head, torso, upper and lower limbs, as a consequence of a fire that broke out in a cottage in the Ivančice region. The young patient underwent a total of 22 operations under general anaesthesia, totalling 40.5 hours in the operating theatre. Surgeons had to remove his damaged skin and gradually replace it with healthy skin from unaffected parts of his body. Transfusion products and blood derivatives also helped save his life. Today, his burns are healing and he will soon be discharged home for intensive rehabilitation.
“Approximately 140 pediatric patients with burns of various degrees are hospitalized in our department every year, but a case with such extensive burns and trauma is absolutely unique,” explained the head of the Burns and Plastic Surgery Clinic, Dr. Libor Streit.
Dr. Streit gave details of the child’s treatment following the fire. His breathing was secured by paramedics at the scene, then he was connected to a lung ventilator, put into an artificial sleep, and flown to the Burns Clinic in FN Brno. There he underwent immediate surgery due to severe burns on his hands and legs. He was kept on artificial lung ventilation before being transferred to the Department of Pediatric Anesthesiology and Resuscitation (KDAR), for further intensive therapy for inhalation trauma and surgery to support ventilation. His burns were managed during this time by staff from Burns and Plastic Surgery Clinic, where he was later transferred.
According to his attending physician, Dr. Filip Raška, the patient’s face was the most affected area, and he was at risk of losing his nose and part of his ear due to the severity of the burns. “However, these aesthetically important areas were saved,” he said. “Dermal substitutes were used in all areas to improve the aesthetic result and minimise subsequent scar contracture.”
The patient’s right hand was also severely threatened, he added. “In the end, only the distal joints of the second to fifth fingers were lost. This allowed us to preserve the grasping function of the dominant upper limb, which is essential.”
Raška said that dealing with such a large number of operations is “understandably exhausting for the patient”. However, he said he believed that “the boy has coped relatively well with all the operations and the subsequent acceptance of his new appearance, which is not the norm for paediatric patients.”
The young patient’s remaining burns are now close to being healed, his tracheostomy tube has recently been removed, and no further surgery under general anaesthetic is expected. He will soon be discharged home to undergo intensive rehabilitation, but his extensive scars will require life-long care. He is also likely to require repeated reconstructive procedures in the future, as scar tissue in children does not grow as fast as healthy skin.
