title: Primary excision of the burn wound.
abstract: Early excision of burn eschar and wound closure significantly improves survival following major burn injury. Immediate primary excision performed by burn-experienced surgeons in dedicated burn care facilities can reduce further morbidity and mortality, length of hospital stay and medical costs. Burn care at the millennium is evolving rapidly into a subcategory of trauma surgery, with burn patients increasingly being viewed as victims of major trauma who benefit most from immediate and definitive surgical correction of their injuries.
authors.affiliation: Joseph M. Still Burn Center, Columbia-Augusta Medical Center, Georgia, USA.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Still
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Law
mesh_terms: D002056:Burns / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D017768:Skin, Artificial; D014183:Transplantation, Heterologous; D014945:Wound Healing