Electrical burns to the oral commissure: does splinting obviate the need for commissuroplasty?
Two groups of children who had sustained electrical burns to the oral commissure were compared. The first group (n = 20) underwent splinting of the commissure and the other group (n = 22) did not have splints as part of their treatment regimen. The mean age at the time of burn was 3 years in both groups. The need for commissuroplasty was significantly decreased in the splinted group (P = 0.0007 by Fisher's exact test). Further analysis of the duration of splinting in the splinted group (n = 20) revealed that all seven children who required commissuroplasty underwent splinting for less than 4 months while all 13 children who did not require surgery used their splints for more than 4 months (range 4-8 months).
al-Qattan
M M
MM
Division of Plastic Surgery, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Gillett
D
D
Thomson
H G
HG
D002058:Burns, Electric / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009055:Mouth / Q000293:injuries* / Q000601:surgery; D013165:Splints; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014945:Wound Healing / Q000502:physiology