Cemil Dalay

A retrospective analysis of 1083 Turkish patients with serious burns

A total of 1083 burn cases hospitalised at a burn center between August 1988 and the end of 1997 were studied retrospectively to determine the factors and demographic features associated with burn injury in Turkey. The means for patient age and percent total body surface area (TBSA) burned were 18.1 years and 31.2%, respectively (medians were 14.0 years and 25.0%, respectively). Burn injuries were more common in winter and spring, and most occurred in the home. The majority of patients were city dwellers, and had been referred from public hospitals. There was a predominance of male patients (71.9%) in the study population, but the proportions of children and adults were equal. Almost half of the males and the majority of the females were children/students. The vast majority of female adults were housewives, and most of the men were employed outside the home. More than half of the patients suffered second-degree burns, and the others all had deeper burn injuries. The most frequent cause of burn in the study population was flame. Children mainly suffered from scalding, and adults from flame and electrical burns. There were no differences between the sexes regarding depth of burn; whereas percentage total burned surface area was higher in females. Children had a lower mean TBSA and lower rate of third-degree burns. Mortality rate of the study population was 33.5%. The study results identified various risk factors and the groups at high risk for serious burns and indicated some ways that prevention programmes can be improved.

A retrospective analysis of 1083 Turkish patients with serious burns. Part 2: burn care, survival and mortality.

Epidemiological investigations of burn patient series help practitioners to identify factors that affect patient survival. Our aim was to contribute to the body of knowledge in this area by determining how survival related to certain variables in burn cases. The records of 1083 burn patients who were hospitalised between August 1988 and the end of 1997 were retrospectively reviewed. Of this total, 363 (33.5%) died of burn complications, namely, multi-organ injury due to sepsis (47.1% of deaths), renal failure (44.6%), respiratory injury (5.8%) and gastrointestinal bleeding (2.5%). Mortality was higher in children/students, females, retired persons. Extent and depth of burn were important predictors of patient survival. Flame not only was the commonest burn cause but also carried the highest mortality risk. Most of the 1083 patients were referred to our hospital within 3 days of the injury. Deaths commonly occurred within 7 days. The mortality rate for patients who received medical therapy only was higher than that in the group that underwent both medical and surgical treatment (48.4 versus 10.0%, respectively). The study results highlighted various factors that are related to patient survival. These should be considered in the provision of optimal burn care. Training and experience are important elements in burn care and educational meetings should be held regularly for the staff of the burn unit.

The relationship between tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and survival following granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) administration in burn sepsis.

Blood levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha were determined in 78 patients with burn sepsis. Of these patients, 51 were managed with additional administration of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in addition to routine treatment procedures (group A), while 27 received only routine treatment (group B). G-CSF was administrated for at least nine and at most 14 days; doses were gradually decreased in each 3 day period. On the 1st, 4th, 7th, 10th and 15th days, blood levels of TNF-alpha were determined. We sought to determine whether TNF alpha levels had a prognostic value in the management of burn induced sepsis that was treated with G-CSF. In our study, patients with gradually decreasing TNF-alpha levels in the second 3 day period, were strong candidates for survival, because TNF-alpha levels decreased little in nonsurvivors but decreased greatly in survivors. The survival rate was 42/51 (82.3%) in group A and 9/27 (33.3%) in group B. In conclusion, G-CSF had positive effects on survival, and TNF-alpha was a predictor of prognosis in burn-induced sepsis.

Upper extremity salvage with a flow-through free flap.

In complex extremity injuries, which include composite tissue lost with devascularization caused by segmental vascular damage, simultaneous coverage of the defects with revascularizations should be required. One-stage reconstruction of both soft tissue coverage and vascular damage can be performed by a flow-through-type free flap. In this series, 5 patients between 13 and 36 years of age with wide composite tissue defects in the cubital region and segmental defects in brachial arteries were operated at our clinic between 1996 and 2003. With the aim of reconstructing the wide tissue defects in the cubital region as well as that of the brachial artery, a radial arterial flow-through flap was applied. The radial artery of the flow-through flap was anastomosed to the proximal ends of the brachial and ulnar arteries in an end-to-end fashion. In 4 of the patients, the radial arterial flow-through flap was prepared from the distal aspect of the wounded forearm and in 1 patient from the contralateral forearm. In the postoperative period, no complications related to the anastomosis were encountered in the flap with all anastomoses found to be patent, and distal circulation was restored. The radial arterial flow-through flap is very useful in the clinical field of major trauma of the cubital region with brachial artery damage with numerous advantages that include the opportunity to work in one single surgical area, shorter dissection times resulting from simple and fixed anatomy, perfect color and tissue adaptation, and the suitability of the vessel caliber and length.

Orbital apex syndrome associated with fractures of the zygoma and orbital floor

SummaryThe orbital apex syndrome can be caused by trauma. The patient presented was hit by an elbow in the right periorbital area with resulting fractures to the right zygoma and orbital floor. Examination revealed visual loss, total ophthalmoplegia, and ptosis of the right upper eyelid with hypoesthesia in the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve. After a week of supportive therapy and observation, the orbital floor fracture was repaired by reducing the bone fragments, and the zygomatic fracture was reduced through a Gillies incision. Over the next six months, there was complete resolution of the ophthalmoplegia, the ptosis, the loss of sensation in the ophthalmic division of the trigeminal nerve, and the vision.

Unusual Idiopathic Calcinosis Cutis Universalis in a Child

Calcinosis cutis is an uncommon disorder characterized by the progressive deposition of crystals of calcium phosphate (hydroxyapatite) in the skin in various areas of the body. It is classified into four types according to etiology, namely as dystrophic if calcium and phosphorus levels are normal and tissue damage is present, as idiopathic if calcium and phosphorus levels are normal and no tissue damage is present, or as metastatic if there is hypercalcemia or hyperphosphatemia. Medical and surgical treatments are options to cure calcinosis cutis. Medical therapy is not very effective. Surgical excision has shown to be beneficial, as it can provide a symptomatic relief. However, since calcinosis cutis limits are not always well defined, a recurrence of the lesions may occur. We dealt with a very rare form of calcinosis cutis in a healthy 6-year-old girl. There was no evidence of connective tissue disorder or abnormal mineral metabolism. Hence, she was diagnosed as idiopathic calcinosis cutis and, although calcifications in idiopathic cutis are most commonly localized to one area, our patient unusually exhibited widespread calcific deposits. Although the existing lesions showed slow improvement, systemic pamidronate therapy was effective in preventing the occurrence of new lesions. Surgical excision proved to be an effective and successful treatment. This report aims to raise doctors’ awareness on the presentation, etiopathogenesis, and course of the relatively rare idiopathic calcinosis cutis.

Reconstruction of the wide palate defects with temporal osteocutaneous island flaps

SummaryThe temporal osteocutaneous island (TOCI) flap was first performed in reconstruction of palatal defects by Furnas [8]. It consists of temporoparietal fascia, galea, pericranium and the cortical layer of parietal bone covered with pericranium. In this study, we present five patients with wide palatal defects treated by TOCI flaps. The causation of the wide palatal defects were gun-shot wounds in two patients and unsuccessful reconstruction of congenital cleft palate during early childhood in three patients. All patients were adult. TOCI flaps were performed in two stages. At first, the TOCI flap was elevated and covered with a split thickness skin graft. In the second stage (approximately 1.5 months later), the flap was elevated based on the superficial temporal artery as an island flap. It was then transferred to the palatal defect via a cheek tunnel and sutured to the edges of the defect. There was no need for bone fixation. The length of the pedicle of the flap was sufficient in size to easily reach the anterior part of the palate. No serious complications were seen. One minor oronasal fistula occurred; this was repaired by local flaps. The TOCI flaps improved speech only partially. In conclusion, we believe this procedure is a good method for reconstruction in wide palatal defects which need three layer closure. This procedure is not a satisfactory solution for complete correction of speech defects.

Management of upper eyelid retraction: a case treated with müllerectomy

Upper eyelid retraction is a common symptom related to several ocular pathologies. Conservative treatments have been shown to be of little value in maintaining the desired eyelid aperture. Surgery is therefore required to correct eyelid retraction. We report a case of upper eyelid retraction corrected with müllerectomy in a patient with an unacceptable cosmetic appearance.

Surgical correction of a tessier no. 4 cleft

SummaryTessier no. 4 cleft is a very rare congenital anomaly. Various names have been applied to describe this malformation. Complete, incomplete, unilateral and bilateral forms have been presented. In this paper, a case of the no. 4 cleft is presented with its clinical findings and surgical correction technique which was used. The correction was carried out by rotation-advancement skin flaps to cover the defect and restore the orbicularis oris sphincter.