title: Blood loss during extensive escharectomy and auto-microskin grafting in adult male major burn patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To improve the accuracy of blood loss estimation during extensive escharectomy and auto-microskin grafting on extremities in adult male major burn patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  All adult male major burn patients admitted to our center who underwent extensive escharectomy and auto-microskin graft on extremities for more than 10% TBSA during the period 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2009 were involved in this study. The blood loss during the operation was estimated by the surgeons or calculated according to the changes in hemoglobin levels.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The average burn and escharectomy areas for the 64 burn patients included in the study were 74.16 ± 16.96% and 30.27 ± 15.63% TBSA respectively. The auto-microskin donor area was 3.81% TBSA. The volumes of intra-operative calculated and estimated blood losses and transfused blood during the operation were 0.47 ml/cm2, 0.13 ml/cm2 and 0.20 ml/cm2 surgical area 77.29 ml, 20.51 ml and 32.83 ml per 1% TBSA), respectively. Within two weeks after injury surgical blood loss appeared to be greater the later the operation was carried out. Within the first week after injury the mean proportional blood loss was increased with area excised.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this study the average calculated blood loss for the operation of extensive escharectomy and microskin graft in adult male major burn patient was 0.47 ml/cm2 (77.29 ml per 1% TBSA). This result will help us to predict expected blood loss more accurately.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Burn Research, Southwestern Hospital, State Key Lab of Trauma, Burn and Combined Injury, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400038, China.
authors.forename: Gaoxing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Luo
authors.forename: Hua
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Yizhi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.forename: Lang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Junsheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Tao
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sisi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Xianchang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fitzgerald
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016063:Blood Loss, Surgical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002056:Burns / Q000601:surgery*; D003646:Debridement; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods; D014182:Transplantation, Autologous; D055815:Young Adult